Client Business:
Information Technology

Space Needs:
12,000 Square Feet
Office Space

 

 

Profile:  Informa is a leading business intelligence, academic publishing, and events company, operating within the Knowledge and Information Economy. They approached us through their New York City office to assist in a Boston site search which would bring together many of their operations. The different groups all provide intelligence and information to different communities including life sciences, academics, finance, publications, conferences and exhibitions. By consolidating and providing a dramatic new facility, they would bring together the different “companies” and some of the new acquisitions like Comic Con under one roof. The Challenge was to find the right image for so many different companies, and to find the right pricing with Boston lease rates approaching $90/sf. The space and layout needed to provide seating for employees who spent much of their time traveling, or working from home occasionally, and make the team proud to bring their clients to an easily identifiable and prestigious property that represented the Informa look.

Solution: After an exhaustive search that focused around the Financial District and then the Seaport areas of Boston, which surrounded the South Station Amtrak facility, we defined 8 good options in a certain size range, and then we redefined the size.  All of these spaces required extensive renovations, and because of Boston’s building boom, the costs were out of control and the timing was becoming a factor. Eventually we heard of a speculative space being built out by a Landlord in the Financial District and permitting and construction had already commenced. The plans & design were almost perfect.  We negotiated a competitive lease and Informa was empowered and capable of making decisions quickly, and because of Informa’s fiscal strength, the Landlord was willing to be flexible with the terms, even in this low vacancy rate market. Informa moved into brand new edgy space, with exposed ceilings, sealed concrete floors, open with spectacular views, all in an iconic high-rise building in downtown Boston with opportunity to grow.