MetroWest495 Biz

MetroWest495 Biz | February 2014 7 also encouraged the city to attract a hotel, fitness center and entertainment options to boost after-hours activity downtown and cut down on vacant or unde- rutilized buildings. The report was compiled at the request of the Marlborough Economic Development Corporation to help revitalize the downtown area. AMBULANCE FIRM SIGNS ASHLAND LEASE The commonwealth's largest independently owned ambulance service can move next month into 7,500 square feet of newly-leased office space in Ashland's Ledgemere Park. Quincy-based Fallon Ambulance agreed Dec. 18 to a lease property at 250 Eliot St., according to Garrett Quinn of Parsons Commercial Group, which represented both Fallon and building owner Ledgemere LLC. Quinn declined to disclose other details of the deal. Ashland is a new site for Fallon, Quinn said, and one of the company's first lo- cations in MetroWest. This latest deal means Parsons has leased out more than 20,000 square feet of space at Ledgemere Park over the past three months. The 245,000-square-foot office park off Route 126 now has just 20,000 square feet of vacant space, Quinn said. OFFICE VACANCIES RISE Consolidations by some major employers in MetroWest caused the region's office vacancy rates to climb in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to data from global real estate broker Colliers International. More than 115,000 square feet of office space in MetroWest became empty over the quarter, causing the region's vacancy rate to climb from 26.8 to 27.6 percent. That's the highest vacancy rate in any part of Greater Boston by nearly 3 percent. TJX's relocation of employees from Flanders Road in Westborough to a new campus in Marlborough resulted in 129,000 square feet of vacant space, the report said. And Natick saw its net absorption fall by 114,000 square feet as MathWorks closed on its purchase of the 500,000-square-foot One Boston Scientific Place, but is occupying only half of the building. Boston Sci- entific is leaving for Marlborough. Vacancy climbed despite MathWorks' expansion at its Apple Hill campus in Natick by 166,000 square feet. PROFITS UP AT BOSTON SCIENTIFIC Rising sales and cost cuts boosted Boston Scientif- ic's fourth-quarter profits significantly over 2012, the company reported. The Natick-based medical device maker reported earnings of $290 million or 21 cents per share, after excluding acquisition, divestiture, litigation and restructuring costs. That beat both analysts' expectations of 13 cents per share and the company's year-over-year performance of 18 cents. Sales rose from $1.82 billion in the final quarter of 2013 to $1.84 billion this year. Analysts were expect- ing sales of $1.83 billion. Sales growth was fueled largely by the pacemakers implantable cardioverter defibrillators, where purchases rose 2 percent to $468 million. AMERESCO WINS $15.7M CONTRACT Framingham-based Ameresco was awarded a $15.7-million contract by New Mexico State University to improve energy efficiency in 46 of its buildings. The improvements to more than 2.7 mil- lion square feet of space will pay for themselves over the life of the 13-year contract, the university said. At the end of the contract, the university said it will realize a projected $1.8 million in savings each year. The contract includes the replacement of obsolete light fixtures with more energy efficient ones, which the university said would otherwise have to pay for on its own. The project also calls for an energy audit conducted by Ameresco at all New Mexico State facilities around the state. HI-TEMP COATINGS TECHNOLOGY SOLD A Boxborough-based manufacturer of high- temperature-resistant and insulative coatings is being sold to a publicly owned Pittsburgh company, it announced. PPG Industries said it has reached an agreement to acquire privately owned Hi-Temp Coatings Technology Co. Inc. by the end of March. Financial terms were not disclosed. Hi-Temp sup- plies coatings that withstand extreme temperatures to protect both carbon steel and stainless steel sub- strates, PPG said. The company's coatings are used widely in refineries, petrochemical plants, pulp and paper mills and power plants. PPG's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. It supplies protec- tive and marine coatings for the energy, marine and infrastructure-related industries. n Roundup A Major Anniversary... A New Building... A Major Company Milestone Whether it's the celebration of a major anniversary or the opening of a new headquarters, Worcester Business Journal's Custom Publishing Division can help you create a custom magazine for your business. Our division's top flight team of writers and designers can help you tell your story – and make your business look great! Based on our unique publishing model, its surprisingly affordable. Interested in finding out more? Call WBJ Custom Corporate Project Director Christine Juetten at 508-755-8004 ext. 270. Custom Publishing Division Can we create a Custom magazine for you? 25 Years of Service 1 M A S T E R S T H E A R T O F E X T R U S I O N An advertising supplement to the Worcester Business Journal 25 th ANNIVERSARY A Fact of Business Life in Central Massachusetts For advertising information contact: Mark Murray, Associate Publisher 508.755.8004 x227 mbmurray@wbjournal.com don't measure up. The others www.wbjournal.com

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