HQ Relocations & Speculative Construction: Boston Strengthens Its

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MARKETVIEW

Boston Downtown Office, Q1 2016 HQ relocations & speculative construction: Boston Strengthens its place amongst global cities

Vacancy Availability Quarterly Absorption Sublease Under Construction 6.9% 14.6% (41,763) SF 1.5% 2.4 MSF

* Arrows indicate change from previous quarter Figure 1: Office Vacancy vs. Lease Rate Vacancy Rate 6.9% Average Asking Lease Rate $55.20

Vacancy (%) Lease Rate Per Sq. Ft. ($) 14% $60

12% $50

10% $40

8% $30 6%

$20 4%

$10 2%

0% $0 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012 Q4 2012 Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Q4 2015 Q1 2016

Source: CBRE Research, Q1 2016.

Coming off of three consecutive years of one Charlestown submarket recorded nearly million sq. ft. of positive absorption, the overall 230,000 sq. ft. of growth, comprised of multiple $70 Downtown Boston Office market experienced sizable deals, other core submarkets felt the a relatively flat first quarter$60 of 2016, posting effects of traditional firms consolidating 41,000 sq. ft. of negative absorption. While the footprints and resulting in an overall increase in $50

$40

$20

$10

$0 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Q4 2015 Q1 2016

Sq. Ft. (000s)

1,000,00

800,00

600,000

400,000

200,000

(200,000)

(400,000) Q3 2015 Q4 2015 Q1 2016 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 MARKETVIEW BOSTON DOWNTOWN OFFICE

sublease inventory. Despite the flat statistical • The total sublease inventory surpassed one quarter, positive qualitative factors remain. Two million sq. ft. for the first time since 2011, with speculative construction projects broke ground, over 500,000 sq. ft. in the Back Bay alone. affirming strong investor confidence in the city. In Liberty Mutual added just under 60,000 sq. ft. at January, GE announced it will relocate its global 222 Berkeley Street, while State Street added its headquarters and about 800 employees to Boston remaining 130,000 sq. ft. at Copley Place. from Fairfield, Connecticut, drawing national attention and further cementing Boston as a global SEAPORT city of innovation. The Massachusetts unemployment rate declined to a 15-year low of • At the end of March, GE announced they 4.6%, well below the national average of 4.9%. selected Necco Court as the location of their headquarters on 2.5 acres currently owned CBD Procter & Gamble. Plans include the renovation of two existing vacant buildings on the site, • As the largest deal in downtown Boston this formerly occupied by the New England quarter, Putnam Investments announced the Confectionary Company, as well as construction relocation of its 250,000-sq.-ft. global of a third building. In the meantime, GE signed headquarters from One Post Office Square to a short-term lease at 41 Farnsworth Street and 100 Federal Street. The complex transaction will occupy 53,550 sq. ft. in August 2016, included relocations by two existing tenants, beginning the process of relocating employees Wellington Management and Bank of America. from Connecticut.

• Despite an increase in availability, vacancy • Overall the Seaport recorded 91,000 sq. ft. of declined by 50 basis points, ending Q1 2016 at negative absorption for the quarter, primarily a 6.8%. Average asking rents increased more than result of the 144,000 sq. ft. at 253 Summer Street $0.75 to $54.24 per sq. ft. currently occupied by Neighborhood Health Plan as it prepares to relocate to its new • 53 State Street saw strong leasing activity in Assembly Row headquarters in Somerville. Q1 2016 as SAP America and Rubin & Rudman The large block of availability coming to the signed leases to occupy 27,000 sq. ft., backfilling market in 2017 will provide a rare opportunity in a portion of the space that Goodwin Procter will the ever-tight brick & beam market of the Fort be vacating. Commitments on multiple Point Channel. additional floors have also been reported. • Another speculative office building is underway BACK BAY in the Seaport, joining Skanksa’s 121 Seaport. Tishman Speyer broke ground on a • The inventory of c-working space continues to 373,000-sq.-ft., 13-story office tower that will grow. While Regus signed two additional leases include 20,000 sq. ft. of ground-floor retail. and multiple new-to-market coworking firms are looking for space in Boston, WeWork made the biggest splash of Q1 2016, opening its third location in Boston with a 113,000-sq.-ft. lease at 31 Saint James Avenue.

PERIPHERAL

• Charlestown was a hotbed of activity in Q1 2016 • In North Station, Boston Properties broke with more than 228,000 sq. ft. of absorption. 500 ground on the first phase of The Hub on Rutherford Avenue saw more than 145,000 sq. ft. Causeway, with delivery planned for late 2018. of space leased as Cambridge College and This included 175,000 sq. ft. of creative loft Indigo signed leases to occupy 85,000 and office space spread over five stories as well as a 60,000 sq. ft. respectively. 60,000-sq.-ft. Star Market grocery store and the New England region’s first ArcLight Cinema, a 60,000-sq.-ft., 15-screen theater.

AERIAL OF SEAPORT SUBMARKET

Source: Les Vants

Figure 2: Transactions of Note

Tenant Address Sq. Ft. Submarket Type Putnam Investments 100 Federal Street 250,000 CBD New Wellington Management 100 Federal Street 150,000 CBD Renewal WeWork 31 Saint James Avenue 113,000 Back Bay New Cambridge College 500 Rutherford Avenue 85,000 Charlestown New Indigo 500 Rutherford Avenue 60,000 Charlestown New GE 41 Farnsworth Street 54,000 Seaport New Ginkgo BioWorks 21-25 Drydock Avenue 70,000 Seaport New Partners in Health 800 Boylston Street 32,000 Back Bay New Community Builders 185 Dartmouth Street 32,000 Back Bay New SCVNGR One Federal Street 28,000 CBD Sublease SAP America 53 State Street 27,000 CBD New Rubin & Rudman 53 State Street 27,000 CBD New Source: CBRE Research, Q1 2016.

Figure 3: Market Statistics

Available Vacant Sublease Quarter Net YTD Net Avg Asking Boston Office Bldgs Total Sq. Ft. (%) (%) (%) Absorption Absorption Rent $ (Gross) Central Business District 185 36,854,778 13.1 6.8 1.1 (123,474) (123,474) 54.24 Class A 43 26,870,269 13.4 7.3 1.1 (88,991) (88,991 57.14 Class B/C 142 9,984,509 12.5 5.5 1.1 (34,483) (34,483) 44.03 Back Bay 78 15,058,485 17.9 7.9 3.3 24,873 24,873 62.01 Class A 21 10,192,552 23.3 9.1 4.3 (152,704) (152,704) 63.81 Class B/C 57 4,865,933 6.5 5.3 1.3 177,577 177,577 46.13 Seaport 67 12,185,231 16.6 5.2 0.9 (91,895) (91,895) 58.23 Class A 12 5,418,877 17.8 1.3 0.2 64,906 64,906 69.53 Class B/C 55 6,766,354 15.5 8.3 1.5 (156,801) (156,801) 47.21 Fenway/Kenmore Square 22 2,172,967 17.5 15.2 0.0 (28,003) (28,003) 54.45 Class A 2 899,379 36.4 36.4 0.0 11,648 11,648 54.89 Class B/C 20 1,273,588 4.1 0.3 0.0 (39,651) (39,651) 40.00 North Station/Waterfront 40 2,815,250 14.9 2.4 0.6 (38,253) (38,253) 55.25 Class A 2 368,000 47.6 0.0 0.0 0 0 68.00 Class B/C 38 2,447,250 10.0 2.7 0.7 (38,253) (38,253 42.64 Mid-Town 27 2,559,445 14.3 12.5 0.6 (13,915 (13,915) 42.72 South Station 22 1,332,259 8.3 5.4 1.0 6,850 6,850 44.16 Allston/Brighton/Longwood 24 2,006,081 20.4 6.9 3.2 10,882 10,882 42.86 Charlestown/East Boston 21 2,922,083 6.7 3.6 0.2 228,452 228,452 34.26 Dorchester/South Boston 25 2,193,029 10.9 6.3 2.3 (17,280) (17,280) 30.22 Overall Boston Office 511 80,099,608 14.6 6.9 1.5 (41,763) (41,763) 55.20 Source: CBRE Research, Q1 2016.

12% $50

10% $40

8% $30 Vacancy (%) Lease Rate Per Sq. Ft. ($) 6% 14% $60 $20 4% 12% $50 $10 2% 10% $40 MARKETVIEW BOSTON DOWNTOWN OFFICE 0% 8% $0 $30 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012 Q4 2012 Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 6% Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Q4 2015 Q1 2016

$20 AVERAGE ASKING RENTS 4% Figure 4: Average Asking Lease Rates Class A $59.98 Class B $44.59 $10 2% Overall asking rents continue to climb in all core $70 markets. In the Back Bay, rent growth was0% driven by $0 a shift in the Class A versus Class B inventory. Class $60 Q1 2012 Q2 2012 Q3 2012 Q4 2012 Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Q4 2015 Q1 2016 B availability fell 360 basis points to 6.5%, while Class A increased 150 basis points to 23.3%. Class $50

A speculative construction added premium rents to $40 both North Station and the Seaport where there is $30 $70 now over 600,000 sq. ft. of premier space under construction, averaging well over $60 per sq. ft. $20 $60

$10 $50

$40 $0 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Q4 2015 Q1 2016 $30

Source:$20 CBRE Research, Q1 2016.

$10 NET ABSORPTION $0 Sq. Ft. (000s)Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Q4 2015 Q1 2016 Figure 5: Net Absorption After three consecutive years of one million sq. ft. 1,000,00 of positive absorption, the first quarter of 2016 was CBD (123,474) Sq. Ft. Seaport (91,895) Sq. Ft. Back Bay 24,873 Sq. Ft. relatively flat, resulting in 41,000 sq. ft. of negative 800,00 absorption. Flight to value resulted in a spike in 600,000Sq. Ft. (000s) Charlestown activity, which balanced out the 1,000,00 contraction seen in other submarkets. The Back 400,000 Bay’s sublease inventory continued to grow and 200,000800,00 now makes up almost 19% of the total available 600,000 space in the submarket. The CBD’s biggest 0 400,000 contributor of negative absorption was the block of (200,000) space that will be left by Putnam Investments at 200,000 One Post Office Square in 2019. However, Putnam (400,000) 0 leased an equal 250,000 sq. ft. at its new CBD Q3 2015 Q4 2015 Q1 2016 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 location and the increase in available space was the (200,000) result of reshuffling tenants at 100 Federal Street to (400,000) accommodate Putnam’s requirement. Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014 Q1 2015 Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Q4 2015 Q1 2016

Source: CBRE Research, Q1 2016.

Definitions

AVERAGE ASKING LEASE RATE OCCUPIED AREA (SQ. FT.) Rate determined by multiplying the asking gross Building area not considered vacant. lease rate for each building by its available space, UNDER CONSTRUCTION summing the products, then dividing by the sum of Buildings that have begun construction as the available space with net leases for all buildings evidenced by site excavation or foundation work. in the summary.

AVAILABLE AREA (SQ. FT.) GROSS LEASES Available building area that is either physically Includes all lease types whereby the tenant pays an vacant or occupied. agreed rent plus estimated average monthly costs of the operating expenses and taxes for the AVAILABILITY RATE property, including utilities, insurance and/or Available sq. ft. divided by the net rentable area. maintenance expenses. VACANT AREA (SQ. FT.) MARKET COVERAGE Existing building area that is physically vacant or Includes all competitive buildings in CBRE’s survey immediately available. set. VACANCY RATE NET ABSORPTION Vacant building feet divided by the net rentable The change in occupied sq. ft.from one period to area. the next, as measured by available sq. ft. NORMALIZATION NET RENTABLE AREA Due to a reclassification of the market, the base, The gross building square footage minus the number and square footage of buildings of elevator core, flues, pipe shafts, vertical ducts, previous quarters have been adjusted to match balconies and stairwell areas. the current base. Availability and vacancy figures for those buildings have been adjusted in previous quarters.

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Suzanne Duca CBRE/New England Director of Research 33 Arch Street, 28th Floor +1 617 912 7041 Boston, MA 02110 [email protected] To learn more about CBRE Research, or to access additional research reports, please visit the Global Research Gateway at www.cbre.com/researchgateway.

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