The Route 128/Mass Pike area contains 10 towns including Allston, Brighton, Brookline, Needham, Newton, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Wellesley and Weston. This submarket is anchored by Waltham, and is the largest and most established suburban submarket. The submarket’s location at the crossroads of Route 128 and the Mass Pike offers easy access to Cambridge and Boston and proximity to the most desirable and affluent residential communities. The diverse tenant base consists of high technology, health care, defense, and services firms. Considered “Main and Main” in suburban Boston, the premium buildings in this submarket typically benefit from any flight to quality trend and achieve the highest rental rates in the suburbs.
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Net absorption was (31,228) square feet in the second quarter slightly increasing the net occupancy decline through the first six months to (249,081) square feet. This increased the availability rate to 14.0 percent, up slightly from 13.6 percent last quarter. Negative absorption thus far is primarily from the marketing of Phase Forward’s space at 880 Winter Street and National Grid’s (formerly Keyspan Energy) office at 52 Second Avenue last quarter. Both firms have pre-leased speculative buildings under construction elsewhere in Waltham. Waltham vacancy is up slightly to 10.0 percent, only a percentage point higher than its lowest level in the last 18 months and vacancy remains fifteen percentage points below the 24.6 percent peak registered five years ago. Sublease space continues to be stable and is not a factor in the market at this time. The Class B sector has posted 136,113 square feet of positive net absorption this year, from a 107,777-square-foot lease last quarter by TripAdvisor in Needham and a 70,000-square-foot renewal by Olympus NDT in Waltham this quarter. There are 36 tenants seeking 1.4 million square feet of space, although tenants are more cautious when committing to space given the current national economic climate.
Rent growth slowed in the 128/Mass Pike Class A and
B submarkets, increasing by less than $1 to $37.82 and
$27.27 per square foot gross, respectively. In Waltham,
Class A average rents were up only slightly to $39.03 from
their average of $38.42 per square foot gross last quarter.
Asking rents for top-notch space in premier Waltham Class
A properties such as Waltham Woods, Bay Colony
Corporate Center and Reservoir Woods, and Wellesley
Office Park held steady in the $40-$45 per square foot
gross range during the quarter.
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LEASE
Olympus NDT
48 Woerd Ave, Waltham 70,000 SF
Renewal
NameMedia
230 CityPoint, Waltham
51,570 SF
Relocation
Inverness Medical Innovations
51 Sawyer Rd, Waltham 22,600 SF
Renewal
SALE
60 Wells Ave, Newton February 2008
$5,654,000 ($177/SF)
32,000 SF
69 Hicory Drive, Waltham January 2008
$4,167,000 ($186/SF)
22,440 SF
100-200-300 Fifth Ave, Waltham
September 2007
$13,550,000 ($210/SF) 475,439 SF
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