Turn to page B1 for Banker & Tradesman’s monthly coverage of all things commercial real estate.
THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND REAL ESTATE WEEKLY FOR MASSACHUSETTS BY THE NUMBERS
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County close-up: Franklin Spotlight: Charlemont
IN PERSON
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Once DCU and California-based First Tech Credit Union join up, the combined entity will be one of the five or six biggest credit unions in the nation. But to its future president and CEO, Shruti Miyashiro, this deal wasn’t about chasing size.
WEEK OF MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2024
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE BY THE NUMBERS
A battery manufacturer signed the biggest lease to date at Berkeley Investments’ repositioning of 200 Exchange St. in Malden Center, a project that originally targeted life science tenants.
BEYOND BIOTECH
16 million square feet The amount of available life science space for lease in Greater Boston. See Steve Adams’ story on this page. Source: JLL
1.7 percent 1.7 percent of America’s office space is undergoing conversion to other uses. See Cameron Sperance’s story on page B1. Source: CBRE
2 million square feet
1 Cleveland is in the process of converting the highest percentage of its office inventory to housing. See Cameron Sperance’s story on page B1. Source: CBRE
$54.6 million The size of a non-performing loan for a Waltham office-lab conversion. See Steve Adams’ story on this page. Source: Rockland Trust
500,000 square feet The amount of office space in the city of Boston being converted into housing. See Cameron Sperance’s story on page B1. Source: City of Boston
$135 million The cost of Berkeley Investments’ renovation of a former Malden data center. See Steve Adams’ story on this page. Source: Berkeley Investments
CLIMATE TECH
CREATES BUZZ FOR CONVERSION POTENTIAL
Repositioning Projects Shift Gears in Leasing Strategy BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
R
eal estate developers originally focused on life science tenants to fill office conversion projects are casting a wider net hoping to capture fast-growing climate tech industry startups. Clean energy companies’ demand for commercial real estate could fill part
of the void caused by the biotech leasing downturn. Life science lab supply in Greater Boston outstrips demand by an 8-to-1 margin, according to brokerage JLL, with just 2 million square feet of tenant requirements having a choice of 16 million square feet of availabilities. “There’s not enough demand to keep everyone happy,” said Mark Bruso, JLL’s director of Boston research. “The math is the math.” The prospect of tapping into engineering talent from local universities to tackle climate change has developers and economic development officials salivat-
ing at the growth prospects for a Bay State clean energy cluster. Life science developer BioMed Realty cast a $361 million vote of confidence in the future of the climate tech economy with this month’s acquisition of 750 Main St. in Cambridge. The property is the home of The Engine, a leading climate tech incubator backed by venture capital firm Engine Ventures, which also is headquartered in the 220,000-square-foot building and has raised over $1 billion to invest in startups.
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5 million square feet As much as 5 million square feet of Boston office space has the potential for a housing conversion. See Cameron Sperance’s story on page B1. Source: Gensler
Unless otherwise noted, all data is sourced from The Warren Group’s Mortgage Market Share Module, Loan Originator Module, Statistics Module and/or proprietary database. For more information please visit www.thewarrengroup.com/business/ datasolutions.
POOLING RISK
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS
Mortgage Lenders Look to Avoid Too Much Risk in One Area
Warren’s Attack on Private-Sector Builders Misses Mark on Causes
By Sam Minton | Banker & Tradesman Staff
By Scott Van Voorhis | Banker & Tradesman Columnist
Photo courtesy of Berkeley Investments
The amount of demand for life science space in Greater Boston. See Steve Adams’ story on this page. Source: JLL
Climate Change Is Moving Faster than On Linnaean Street, a Divide Flood Insurance, Forcing Banks to Adapt that’s Keeping Housing Costly
Banking & Lending PAGE 3
Opinion PAGE 4