Lee Partners of New England

Two recent 2011 corporate office space search assignments included strict requirements for high-quality data plans. They could only consider relocation sites in the Route 3 commercial space corridor north of Boston that had either Comcast Business Services or Verizon FIOS connectivity actually installed to the buildings being considered.

This requirement eliminated quite a few high quality class A and class B+ office buildings in Burlington (for Comcast Business Services – no service) from consideration; and many R&D buildings in Bedford/Billerica (for Verizon FIOS – no service).  Many of these buildings were otherwise very appropriate, and they were owned by motivated landlords. However, the lack of robust high-speed connectivity and the lack of certainty of when such service would be available eliminated them from consideration.

In previous years a T-1 line or DSL service available would meet the connectivity needs of start-up and/or expanding technology companies.  These older technology services have now proven themselves to be more expensive and less capable of meeting many current technology client requirements.   It is wise to understand each building’s IT capacity at the commencement of any current day search for a new technology company’s office space – or pay a price in wasted time negotiating for space that cannot or will not immediately meet these needs.

Last Friday I visited with a client that moved into new office space in Burlington during the month of August. They said they were very happy with their new suite and things were working out fine.

The process: Over the past 6 months we toured multiple offerings in Burlington and negotiated with many landlords to secure space. Lease rates offered for class B; B+; and A- office space ranged from the high $ teen’s to the mid $20’s. Improvement allowances varied from the space being offered “as is” to “full build-outs”. Lease terms offered ranged from eighteen month subleases to Landlord direct three-year and five-year leases. Concessions varied depending on landlord motivations – subsequently uncovered during the RFP process.

From the tenant perspective, in this instance, (1) considering many alternatives and (2) being flexible in modifying existing space configuration buildouts combined with a proven negotiations process proved to be successful in securing cost effective space.

The leasing process works best for new companies and/or relocation companies when the requirement is well-defined, the prioritized geographic location clear, and a decision maker is granted the authority to commit to new space. Also, for this assignment, I was able to recommend a cost effective IT wiring installer; new and used office furniture vendor, and an office equipment source – all employed to help in the process.

As it is said many times in the local construction industry: “Job completed on time and on budget” – and it was a lot of fun!

We are hard at work, as usual, at Lee Partners. Many people are out of town and a lot of things are slowing down, but there is still plenty of business to pursue.

The Boston Business Journal had an article out recently…

It was a hot night at Fenway Park: the teams were tied for first place. It was the rubber game of the series. The game had a lot of pitches, a few hits, and not a lot of runs. We left the bases loaded three times. The Yankees didn’t have the hits but still managed to get ahead of us 2-1 in the ninth. Luckily, we tied it up in the bottom of the inning.

We held them at bay at the top of the tenth, at about 12:20AM. Then, the bottom of the tenth, tied up, Big Papi sends one deep into right field. Ground rule double. They walk Crawford, who’d gotten on base on a couple of hits already. Then Reddick got up. He was oh-for-four, not his best night so far.

Then, all of the sudden, he cracks one deep, deep into left field! Base hit! Ortiz’s pinch runner makes it home and the Red Sox win it! Great night at Fenway Park!

Special thanks to Larry Smith of Cranberry Hill Associates! Thanks for the tix. $142Million! – Larry kept yelling that all night, esp. when Crawford was up. Larry likes big numbers!