BOSTON, MA – Next Step Living, the award-winning and cutting-edge home energy efficiency and renewables firm, is expanding in the Innovation District. The company signed a new lease at 21 Drydock Avenue increasing their space to 27,000 square feet. Next Step Living was represented by Deb Stevens, CCIM principal of The Stevens Group/ITRA Global, a commercial real estate firm specializing in tenant representation.

Debra Stevens

“I was delighted two years ago when Next Step Living chose Boston’s Innovation District as its home,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “The company’s continued growth is part of the Innovation District’s success. Next Step Living is a crucial component in the development of Boston’s green tech cluster and at the nucleus of greening Boston’s historic residences.”

Geoff Chapin, President, and Brian Greenfield, CFO, said staying in Boston’s Innovation District was key. “Our employees love the public transportation options, the facilities work for our trucks, and the clean tech community is strong here. The City of Boston has made this choice easy for us on many dimensions.” Next Step Living is adding 19,000 square feet to its existing facility in the Innovation District. bring their total occupied space to 27,000 square feet.

Next Step Living’s services are becoming more vital to this country’s energy independence and reduction needs. Next Step Living makes sure its clients “save money through saving energy.” In 2008, the company launched with 25 staff members, and has grown to 300. Next Step Living works with cities, employers, membership organizations, and the Mass Save Program to promote greening the residential stock.

About Next Step Living

Next Step Living is a socially responsible group that helps homeowners adopt energy efficiency and renewable solar energy. Working with Mass Save and the utilities, Next Step Living is the New England Clean Energy Council’s Employer of the Year, one of Boston’s fastest growing employers, and the 2011 Best of Boston’s Green Energy Consultant.

About The Stevens Group

The Stevens Group provides transactional representation, brokerage and consulting services exclusively for corporate tenants in the Greater Boston market in addition to representing multi-regional and international clients. As the Boston regional affiliate of ITRA Global, an organization of real estate firms devoted to tenant and buyer representation worldwide, The Stevens Group offers principal-level services for corporate clients in more than 90 world markets.

About the Innovation District

Boston’s Innovation District, 1,000 acres on the South Boston Waterfront, is a growing home to startup, research-based, and other innovation companies. In 2010, Mayor Thomas M. Menino launched the Innovation District strategy to enhance already strong opportunities for innovation companies in Boston and the region. Under his leadership, the City of Boston has worked to attract a cluster of innovative companies, to build live/work housing for their employees, and to support a social infrastructure that builds connections between people, businesses, sectors, and cities.

BOSTON, MA – Mark Stevens SIOR, Principal of The Stevens Group/ITRA Global, has been elected Vice Chairman of the International Tenant Representative Alliance (ITRA Global) for 2012. ITRA Global is one of the largest commercial real estate organizations devoted exclusively to representing corporate tenants and occupiers of commercial real estate. With offices across the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific Rim, ITRA Global is active in more than 80 markets worldwide.

Mr. Stevens has been a member of the ITRA board of directors since 2010, and also served as chairman of the global marketing committee from 2007 to 2011. At the ITRA Global spring conference held in Atlanta GA last year, he was presented with the 2011 Exemplary Service Award, highlighting outstanding leadership and contributions to the organization.

An established and well known figure in Boston commercial real estate, Mr. Stevens has more than 34 years of experience representing local and national corporate tenants in their real estate matters. He has served on the board of the Commercial Brokers Association (CBA) since 1998, and was elected President of CBA in 2008. He holds the SIOR designation from the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, and served as President of the New England Chapter of SIOR from 2007 to 2008.

Founded in 1980, The Stevens Group provides transactional representation, brokerage and consulting services exclusively for corporate tenants and occupiers of commercial real estate in the Greater Boston market. As the Boston regional affiliate of ITRA Global, The Stevens Group offers principal-level services for corporate clients in more than 80 markets worldwide.

BOSTON MA – The new “job numbers” were posted last quarter. The government said there were 103,000 jobs added. We could have told you that weeks ago. In the past few months there were 10 small lease transactions totaling 27,000 sf.

As we all know, small companies create jobs, and these companies are no exception. The list of companies include diMagi, Altria, Kelly Services, Cogito, MAPC, Early Sense, Charlestown Veterinary Hospital, ProTravel, Semper LLC and First Call.  A variety of firms providing a wide range of services and products to companies and consumers. This list is very representative of the growth and expansion we are seeing in the greater Boston area.  One transaction was a renewal and one a downsize, but the rest are all expansions or new companies coming to the Boston market.

The Stevens Group is the Boston affiliate of ITRA Global, the International Tenant Representative Alliance, an organization of independently owned commercial real estate firms with offices in major markets in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. ITRA Global is one of the largest organizations in the world that provides objective real estate advice and services exclusively to corporate tenants and occupiers of commercial real estate.

ANDOVER MA — Aras Corp. will soon have a new headquarters, but relocating from its current space here at 300 Brickstone Square, will be as seamless for the burgeoning technology firm as one could imagine. After considering options throughout Interstate 495 North, Aras staff need only take the elevator two levels down from the ninth floor into nearly 20,000 sf that tenant representative Debra Stevens terms “as close to 100 percent plug and play as they come,” with the prior tenant spending heavily on fit-out and infrastructure prior to being lured into Boston.

“It’s awesome,” says the Stevens Group principal who lists main benefits as the stylish FFE left behind, plus extensive window lines along three walls on top of multiple private offices desired by her client. Stevens also credits the owner Transwestern and a cooperative building and leasing team for convincing Aras to remain at the master-planned business park. “It was an aggressive deal,” Stevens says, although she declined to offer specifics on terms due to confidentiality contracts.

Stevens also represented Aras in the lease of its ninth floor location five years ago when Aras was operating from nearby Lawrence. As in that instance, the new commitment represents a substantial increase in space for Aras, with their present headquarters concentrated in 8,000 sf.

About Aras Corp

Aras is the leading provider of enterprise open source Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software solutions. Freedom from licensing eliminates up-front expenses and per user costs while superior technology makes Aras the most advanced enterprise PLM solution suite available. Customers include Motorola, Rolls-Royce, Freudenberg, Lockheed Martin, Ingersoll Rand, Hydrometer, Hi-P and ACCO Brands. Aras is privately held with global headquarters in Andover, Mass.

About The Stevens Group

The Stevens Group is the Boston affiliate of ITRA Global, the International Tenant Representative Alliance, an organization of independently owned commercial real estate firms with offices in major markets in North America, Latin America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. ITRA Global is one of the largest organizations in the world that provides objective real estate advice and services exclusively to corporate tenants and occupiers of commercial real estate.

CAMBRIDGE, MA – Liquid Metal Battery Corp. has leased 10,000 Sf , signing a long-term lease at Blackstone Square, a four-building complex in the city’s CambridgePort district. ITRA/The Stevens Group provided tenant advisory services to LMBC in the transaction.

Blackstone Square

Founded in 2010 by MIT researchers Donald Sadoway, David Bradwell and Dr. Luis Ortiz, the energy sector firm gained quick notoriety thanks to a personal investment from Bill Gates. “They’ll be very happy there,” principal Debra Stevens portends of her client’s future home after conducting an extensive space search that began shortly after the firm was launched. “It was a challenge,” relays Stevens, a tenant representation specialist who worked closely with Ortiz, the firm’s president, in mulling alternatives. Stevens explains LMBC wanted a ground floor opportunity due to weight issues of its equipment, and also needed a structure possessing enhanced power capabilities.

With Blackstone Square able to accommodate the exacting requirements, fit out of the space is now underway in advance of the firm’s upcoming occupancy. Stevens declined to discuss financial details of the commitment by LMBC, but says the landlord “did what they needed to do” in beating out other suitors keen to land the promising company that has already received backing from the US Department of Energy on top of the boost from Microsoft’s famous founder. The technologies were invented in Sadoway’s MIT laboratory, with the founders of LMBC securing the patent rights in advance of launching their platform.

ITRA/The Stevens Group is a Boston based real estate advisory firm providing transactional representation, brokerage and consulting services exclusively for corporate tenants and occupiers of commercial real estate. As the Boston regional affiliate of ITRA Global, an organization of real estate professionals devoted to tenant and buyer representation worldwide, The Stevens Group offers principal-level services to corporate clients in more than 90 markets around the world.

CAMBRIDGE MA – Clover Food Labs recently leased 10,500 sq. ft. of space at 1075 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA. Clover Foods is known all over Boston for their Natural Food Trucks, Vegetarian Restaurants, Best Food Blog, and just plainly the best food.

Their new home will be a commissary and distribution point for the Clover Food Trucks currently located at MIT, Government Center and many other locations around Boston. The exhaustive search finally ended up in an old bakery that also had vehicle distribution, and was in the middle of an urban area where the owner of Clover, Ayr Muir, can practice his craft – bringing great food to the people of Boston. Also, this is a point equidistant between the client’s two alma-maters, MIT and Harvard.

Clover Food Labs was represented by The Stevens Group/ITRA, a Boston based real estate advisory firm providing transactional representation, brokerage and consulting services exclusively for corporate tenants and occupiers of commercial real estate. As the Boston regional affiliate of ITRA Global, an organization of real estate professionals devoted to tenant and buyer representation worldwide, The Stevens Group offers principal-level services to corporate clients in more than 90 markets around the world.

BOSTON MA – Boston’s Innovation Zone has attracted another tenant! Recently Space with a Soul signed a lease for 14,600 sf at 281 Summer Street, Boston, MA.  The space was occupied on an “as is” basis including infrastructure, fixtures and furniture – a perfect solution to time constraints and efficiency of use, especially for a frugal non-profit.

The newest generation of non-profit innovation, Space with a Soul, merges the concepts of traditional business incuba¬tors, shared spaces, and non-profit centers, and takes them to the next level. Their mission is to foster social change by enabling other non-profits to accomplish their mission goals. The founders, Stas Gayshan, Sarah McGarrel and Ben Rosenbleet bring a wealth of ideas, energy, talent and partner relationships to this growing incubator.

Space with a Soul was represented by The Stevens Group/ITRA. Founded in 1982 to provide transactional representation, brokerage and consulting services exclusively for corporate tenants in the Greater Boston market in addition to representing multi-regional and international clients. As the Boston regional affiliate of ITRA Global, an organization of real estate firms devoted to tenant and buyer representation worldwide, The Stevens Group offers principal-level services for corporate clients in more than 90 world markets.

BOSTON, MA – Mark Stevens, SIOR, Principal of The Stevens Group / ITRA Global, was recently presented with the 2011 Exemplary Service Award by the International Tenant Representative Alliance (ITRA Global) during its Spring Conference held in Atlanta Georgia.

Mark Stevens

The annual award highlights outstanding leadership and contributions by an individual to the organization. The award was presented to Mr. Stevens by ITRA Global’s Chairman, Ms. Debra Stracke Anderson. ITRA Global is an organization of Real Estate Professionals specializing in representing tenants and buyers in the leasing, acquisition and disposition of office and industrial real estate. With coverage in the United States, Asia, Canada, Europe and Latin America, ITRA Global is active in more than 90 markets around the world.

The Stevens Group is the Boston regional affiliate for ITRA Global. The company provides transactional, brokerage and consulting services to corporate users of commercial real estate in the Greater Boston area and its suburbs, in addition to representing international clients.

Mr. Stevens serves as a director on the ITRA Board of Directors and is Chairman of the ITRA Global Marketing Committee. “I have been honored to serve on the ITRA Board and as Chairman of the Global Marketing Committee” says Mr. Stevens. “ITRA Global has experienced tremendous growth and continues to attract stellar corporate and real estate services companies from around the world, all committed to advocacy for the corporate tenant and user of commercial real estate. I look forward to continuing to work closely with all of our affiliates worldwide to expand ITRA’s global reach and brand identity.”

A thirty five-year veteran of the real estate industry, Mr. Stevens specializes in representing corporate users in the leasing, acquisition and disposition of office, research and development, manufacturing and industrial facilities. During his career, he has worked with and represented numerous local and national companies including LeMaitre Vascular, Boston Beer, Masco Corp, Tyco, TEVA Pharmaceuticals, SimplexGrinnell and Del Monte Foods. He has also assisted the General Services Administration (GSA) in the procurement of facilities for various governmental agencies.

Mr. Stevens is a member of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), and has served as President of the New England Chapter of SIOR. He is also a member and past president of the Greater Boston Commercial Brokers Association (CBA).

The Real Reporter – Joe Clements

WOBURN, MA – BCD Travel is not going anywhere after signing a 5-year lease renewal for nearly 9,000 sf of first class office space at TradeCenter 128. The LEED Gold-certified property overlooking its namesake Route 128 is owned by Cummings Properties, among suburban Boston’s largest landlords.

Debra Stevens

In announcing the commitment this week, BCD Travel’s real estate advisor, Debra Stevens of the Stevens Group, offers several reasons the renewal route was embraced after considering other options in the market. Building amenities and TradeCenter 128’s sustainability elements are among the positives cited, as is access to Route 128 and Interstate 93.  Also, Stevens adds, “the attention BCD has received from their landlord was a direct consideration for this decision.” Cummings was represented in-house in the lease negotiations by Derek Cook.

Terms of the renewal were not provided. According to a report by Jones Lang LaSalle, the Route 128 North office sector has an average asking rent of $21.90 per sf for Class A space after rents rebounded by 5 percent in the past 12 months following a market-wide slump.  JLL estimates the submarket’s vacancy rate for 12.6 million sf to be 16.4 percent.

A tenant representation specialist, Stevens counseled BCD Travel when her client first landed at TradeCenter 128 in early 2008 shortly after the speculative office development boldly opened in the teeth of a brutal recession. Small and mid-sized tenants have populated the cavernous complex through the downturn, creating a “dynamic” atmosphere that appeals to such firms, explains Stevens. The location has also proven valuable to BCD Travel, she says, offering quick access into downtown Boston and Logan International Airport.

BOSTON, MA – Intralinks has renewed their lease and expanded to 37,000 sq. ft. at the Schrafft’s Center in Charlestown Ma.  Debra Stevens, CCIM of The Stevens group represented Intralinks in the transaction. Although Intralinks, a publically held company, is headquartered in New York, much of the talent and spirit of the company is committed to the Massachusetts area. “It gives me great confidence in Boston’s economy when I hear companies like IntraLinks, who I welcomed to Boston in 2009, will be adding 100 jobs over the next 2 years at their Charlestown location,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

The new expansion will bring the total sq. foot size of the Boston office to approximately 37,000 sf, where the amenities include Bright Horizons Day Care, Fitness Center, Large Cafeteria, Bike Paths and waterfront access to the Mystic River plus the unusual capability of free parking! “The expansion of IntraLinks is proof that Boston is a great place to do business,” said Sal Di Stefano, Industrial and Commercial Sector Senior Manager of the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

IntraLinks provides enterprise-class solutions which facilitate the secure, compliant and auditable exchange of critical information, collaboration and workflow management inside and outside the enterprise. And their on-demand solutions help organize, manage, share and track information enabling clients to accelerate their workflow, optimize business processes and realize new profit potential. IntraLinks has more than 1.3 million users representing over 90,000 organizations and growing!

The Stevens Group, a commercial real estate advisory firm located in Boston, MA, specializes in exclusively representing corporate clients in the leasing, acquisition and disposition of commercial real estate. The Stevens Group is a member/partner of the International Tenant Representative Alliance, with offices in over 85 major cities around the world. Each member acts as an advocates on behalf of their client while assisting them in negotiating optimum lease and or purchase terms. Throughout the process, ITRA provides knowledgeable and objective advice from local office leasing professionals. ITRA firms do not work for landlords or real estate management companies, eliminating the potential conflict that exists with traditional brokerage firms.