January 2008
Woburn MA – BCD Travel has leased 8,500 sq. ft. of office space at the Trade Center 128.
GlobeSt.com Commercial Real Estate News and Property Resource
Leasing Picking Up at Trade Center 128
By Joe Clements
WOBURN, MA-As one of suburban Boston’s largest speculative office projects ever, Trade Center 128 is going to require plenty of tenants to fill the 550,000 sf being constructed along the Route 128/Interstate 95 corridor, but developers of the ambitious plan report brisk activity as the first building prepares to open next month.
“There is a lot of momentum right now,” Cummings Properties VP Eric Anderson tells GlobeSt.com, with more than 20,000 sf of space leased in just the past two weeks. Besides BCD Travel USA and a retail bank branch that will operate at the park, Cummings has landed the law firm of Cohn & Dussi, which will relocate this summer from abutting Burlington. Legal enterprises are be in attracted to the property partly by a five-year lease to the Middlesex County Superior Court, which will relocate in March into a 150,000-sf structure. “It’s certainly going to be a draw for that type of use,” says Anderson.
Cohn & Dussi broker Robert Kinlin of CB Richard Ellis agrees the courthouse was one of several factors swaying his client to take nearly 6,000 sf at Trade Center 128. “They see it as a real plus, “he says. The law firm was also enthused by the product being delivered, says Kinlin, favoring the new construction and space that features abundant natural light. There are also plenty of amenities at Trade Center 128 and the surrounding area to accommodate Cohn & Dussi’s staff, he adds.
BCD Travel’s broker, Debra Stevens of the Stevens Group, says the blank slate afforded by a new building was of import to her client, allowing the 8,500-sf office to be laid out efficiently and employing customized materials. Stevens also praises Cummings for treating her client “the way a $13 billion company ought to be treated” in securing their commitment, and says Trade Center 128 provides BCD close proximity to the suburban clientele without being too distant from Downtown Boston, about a 12 mile ride. “The ability to get in and out of the city was very important,” says Stevens, especially for BCD executives needing to use Logan International Airport.
Cummings is also bullish on the location, according to director Matthew Donaghey. “Not only is the property visible to so many cars on a daily basis, it’s also incredibly convenient for business owners, their employees, their visitors and for the local community,” says Donaghey. The complex includes parking for more than 900 vehicles, but is also connected to public transportation. The centralized location is expected to help Trade Center 128 feed off several different markets, Anderson says. At roughly $32 per sf, the space should be a distinct price alternative versus first class buildings in Boston, Cambridge and nearby Route 128 Central communities such as Burlington, Lexington and Waltham, he says. Minus Presidential Way and Unicorn Office Park, such top-shelf product has been difficult to find in Woburn, and Anderson says Trade Center 128 should be able to “fill that void” in a big way. “It’s definitely getting people’s attention,” he says, particularly with the buildings now taking shape.
Stevens says she anticipates Trade Center 128 will prove to be one of the crown jewels in the Cummings portfolio. Based in Woburn, the company has developed more than nine million sf of industrial, lab and office space, primarily in northeastern Massachusetts, during its 35 years in business. The firm has already received pre-certification for a gold LEED certificate from the USGBC for Trade enter 128.