RW Holmes

R.W. Holmes Realty & CB Richard Ellis Sell 10 California Ave to Genzyme

Patty — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:54:23 +0000

R.W. Holmes Realty is pleased to announce the sale of 10 California Avenue in Framingham to Genzyme Corporation for $8,103,375. 10 California Avenue is a 62,666 SF single story building occupied by Genzyme and Staples. The building is situated on 4.71 acres.

Genzyme employs approximately 10,000 people and is one of the world’s leading biotech companies. In 2011, Genzyme became a Sanofi Company.

Garry Holmes, SIOR of R.W. Holmes Realty represented Columbia Electric Corp (Seller) and Chris Tosti of CB Richard Ellis represented Genzyme.

About R.W. Holmes Realty
Since 1976 R.W. Holmes Realty has assisted corporations and investor/developers with their local, national, and international real estate needs. R.W. Holmes specializes in property leasing, investment sales, tenant representation, consulting and asset management. www.rwholmes.com

Sullivan of R.W. Holmes Realty Sells 30,000 SF Hudson Site

Patty — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:02:05 +0000

Facilis Technology Inc closed on 108 Forest Ave in Hudson, MA, a 30,000 SF two story office, manufacturing building for $1,300,000. Facilis Technology was founded in 2003 to bring shared storage to television and film post production.

Currently located in Hudson, Facilis will be moving to a much larger building to support its increase in business. Bill Sullivan, Vice President of R.W. Holmes represented the Seller and procured the Buyer.

Re-Act Realty, LLC also owned 1 Bonazzoli Ave, a 26,000 SF building located behind 108 Forest Ave, which sold for $1,500,000. Both sites total 56,000 SF, combined sale of $2,800,000 with Bill Sullivan involved in each sale.

R.W. Holmes Realty Completes 7,500 SF Lease for MathWorks in L. A.

Patty — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:32:26 +0000

The MathWorks recently leased 7,500 SF at Gateway Towers, 970 W. 190th Street in Los Angeles, California. Gateway Towers is a 214,000 SF first class office building owned by Hides, which provides MathWorks with future expansion.

MathWorks is the leading developer of mathematical computing software for engineers and scientists. Founded in 1984, MathWorks employs 2200 people in 15 countries, with headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Garry Holmes, SIOR of R.W. Holmes Realty, represented MathWorks and partnered with Studley’s L.A. office.

Johnston & Blackey of R. W. Holmes Realty lease 20,000 SF for Great Hill Dental Partners.

Patty — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:44:04 +0000

R.W. Holmes Realty Co., Inc. is pleased to announce the leasing of 20,000 SF of specialty dental space for Great Hill Dental Partners. Craig S. Johnston, Senior Vice President and Dean Blackey, Vice President exclusively represented Great Hill in locating five (5) new dental offices in Peabody, Chelmsford, Somerville, Braintree and Longwood Medical area in Boston.

Great Hill Dental Partners (www,greathilldental.com) specializes in general dentistry for adults and children, oral and maxillofacial surgery, periodontitics, prosthodontics, pedodontics, orthodontics, and endodontics. The practice was established in November 2011 when Harvard Vanguard Medical associates transitioned ownership of its dental practice to fourteen (14) former Harvard Vanguard dentists who formed Great Hill Dental Partners.

R.W. Holmes Realty leases 23,200 SF at 10 State Street, Woburn

Patty — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 20:39:25 +0000

R.W. Holmes Realty Co., Inc. is pleased to announce that By All Accounts, has signed a long term lease expanding into a total of 23,200 SF at 10 State Street. The two story, multi-tenanted, brick office building totals 46,400 SF on 3.72 acres in an established business park off 128 in Woburn, Mass.

By All Accounts, is a leader in the account aggregation technology serving financial advisors.

George Tonna, President of K & L Realty, said that “it is a pleasure to work with the existing tenant, and to expand a growing company into the entire second floor.” We are pleased the building is 94% leased. K & L Realty owns over 825,000 SF of office, retail, and industrial sites in New England.

Bill Sullivan, Garry Holmes and Chip Detwiller of R.W. Holmes Realty were the sole brokers in the transaction.

Amadei & Detwiller of R.W. Holmes Realty Sell 5-7 Michigan Drive to Michigan Drive, LLC.

Patty — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:02:40 +0000

R.W. Holmes Realty Co., Inc. is pleased to announce the sale of 5-7 Michigan Drive, Natick, MA to Michigan Drive, LLC for $1,200,000. 5-7 Michigan Drive, is a 27,000 SF building situated on 0.71 acres.

Arthur P. Amadei, SVP & Charles Detwiller, SVP of R.W. Holmes Realty represented both the buyer, Michigan Drive, LLC and the seller, Hosokawa Micron International in the transaction.

Amadei of RW Holmes Realty leases 22,500 SF to Newton Wellesley Hospital

Patty — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:47:48 +0000

Newton-Wellesley Hospital, signed a 15,200-square-foot lease renewal at 173 Worcester St. in Wellesley, MA, and a new 7,400-square-foot expansion in the same office park at 195 Worcester St.

The four-story, 30,000-square-foot, Class B office building at 195 Worcester was constructed in 1981 and renovated in 1996. The single-story, 31,000-square-foot, Class B office building at 173 Worcester was built in 1973. The structures are located in the David Nassif Office Park, which is in the Wellesley/Needham submarket.

Arthur Amadei, senior vice president of RW Holmes Realty Co. Inc. represented the landlord, David Nassif Co. Julie Gray, senior vice president of McCall & Almy Inc., represented the tenant.

R.W. Holmes Sells 35 Jeffrey Ave, Holliston, MA.

Patty — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:56:36 +0000

Craig S. Johnston, Senior Vice President of R.W. Holmes Realty represented Colantonio, Inc in the purchase of 35 Jeffrey Avenue in Holliston, MA for $925,000.

35 Jeffrey Ave is a 20,000 sf office/flex building situated on 1.6 acres, built in 1985 and located in the Lowland Industrial Park.

Since 1984, COLANTONIO has provided construction management, general contracting, design/build, preconstruction, and award-winning renovation of historic buildings for clients all over New England.

Since 1976 R.W. Holmes Realty has assisted corporations and investor/developers with their local, national, and international real estate needs. R.W. Holmes specializes in property leasing, investment sales, tenant representation, consulting and asset management. www.rwholmes.com

2011 Will Mark the Turnaround for Boston’s Suburban Office Market

Patty — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:38:54 +0000

The Boston suburban office market experienced slight negative absorption in Q2. However, we still feel 2011 will prove to be the turnaround year for our industry. Although moderate, there certainly is more tenant activity in the market. The Boston suburban office market totals 85.6 million square feet with a combined availability rate of 23.1%. By year end we expect the availability rate will decline to 22.7%, reflecting modest positive absorption.

What is impressive is the recent rent appreciation for Class A properties in the Central Rt. 128 market. Properties in this area are now averaging $32-$35 per square foot. This rent appreciation is another signal that the office market has rebounded. As tenants in the Central Rt. 128 area search for more economical alternatives, the surrounding submarkets start to benefit. The Rt. 128 north and south submarkets along with Framingham/Natick will be prominent beneficiaries for the balance of the year and into 2012.

The flight to quality is still noticeable with tenants trading up to Class A space. This trend is magnifying the rent differential between Class A and B buildings. At this time, Class A properties in most submarkets have a vacancy rate below 12%. For the most part, Class B rents are going to remain flat or decrease slightly for the balance of the year. Thus, the rent gap between Class A and B buildings will be much more pronounced, and in some core submarkets, will exceed $10 per square foot.

Start-up and venture backed companies are beginning to reemerge (according to CB Insights “Venture capital investing in Mass companies reached 1.14 billion in the 2nd quarter of the year – easily surpassing the state’s best quarter for VC of 2010”), but it does not appear they will have a pronounced impact on the suburban office market as a whole. Unlike the early 2000’s where a fledgling company would base their space needs on three to five years of anticipated growth, the start-ups today are far more conservative when leasing space. Furthermore, traditional companies have decreased the square foot leased per employee. Both individual offices and cubicle sizes are shrinking as companies pursue more efficient space utilization. We anticipate positive absorption will continue into 2012 and beyond, but these factors will certainly limit any substantial decline in vacancy rates for the short term.

At the start of 2010, we predicted the volume of sales transactions would be quite moderate for the next two years. This prediction has held true. Much to the chagrin of investors, the financial institutions and special servicers continue to pursue prolonged workouts rather than a disposition strategy. Core properties with credit tenants continue to command premium pricing at or above peak values in 2008. However, properties with vacancy are getting hammered with valuations often plummeting by 50%. Meanwhile, financing markets have recovered. Not only are the banks and life insurance companies aggressively pursuing deals, but we are also witnessing the reemergence of the CMBS market.

The biggest challenge will be for the class B buildings. A number of class B buildings do not have the cash reserves to invest in the necessary capital improvements to remain competitive. For those owners that have the financial means, they need to be proactive in order to differentiate themselves. In most submarkets, there are at least 20 different options for class B space between 4,000 – 10,000 SF. More importantly, these spaces are now remaining vacant (on average) for 20 months. In addition to making the obvious improvements to enhance the first impression (lobby, elevators, and other common areas) it is imperative to buildout tired space so it is in “move in” condition, or at a minimum install new carpet and a dropped ceiling for a better appearance.

Modest positive absorption will occur for 2011 and pick up a little momentum in 2012 as tenant activity increases. Downward pressure on rental rates has subsided with the exception of class B space along the I-495 submarkets. The rent appreciation that is occurring along central Rt. 128 will push into surrounding submarkets. One of the most positive trends is that companies are finally making longer term lease commitments. There is essentially no new construction and a very limited amount of sublease space. With the return of these strong fundamentals the Boston suburban office market is well positioned for the future.

Garry R. Holmes, SIOR, is President and Craig S. Johnston is Senior Vice President of R. W. Holmes Realty Co., Inc., of Wayland, MA.

R.W. Holmes Realty Sell 128 Flex building to 86 West Street LLC

Patty — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 16:09:30 +0000

Dean Blackey and John Eysenbach of R.W. Holmes Realty represented Merullo Realty Trust II in the sale of 86 West Street in Waltham for $1.25 million to B&V Testing, Inc.

B & B & V Testing provides comprehensive testing, certification and repair services of clean rooms and related equipment for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, health care and biomedical academic research communities. V Testing provides B & V Testing provides comprehensive testing, certification and repair servicer banks and related equipment for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, health care and biomedical academic research communities.

Dean Blackey and John Eysenbach of R.W. Holmes Realty Co., Inc. represented the Seller as well as procured the Buyer.