Worcester Business Journal

14 Worcester Business Journal • June 6, 2016 www.wbjournal.com 905 Hartford Turnpike Shrewsbury, MA 01545 508-842-1213 www.elevationee.com Looking for a host offering Four Diamond hospitality in a central, convenient location? Well... Offering space for 5 to 300 guests, world-class cuisine and Central Massachusett's only AAA Four Diamond approval rating, we host exceptional meetings and dinners of all sizes. Let's meet. 363 PLANTATION ST • WORCESTER • 508.754.5789 • BEECHWOODHOTEL.COM Industrial Demand Hughes said the Natick park is in higher demand because it also supports a thriving retail-facing business environ- ment, but the industrial warehouse and flex market is heating up throughout the region. In the latest report from Transwestern covering the first quarter of 2016's Boston industrial market, the rents for manufacturing properties along Interstate 495 have increased by 7 per- cent since the last quarter, with the I-495 West leading the way with an average rate per square foot of $10.64 and a 5.9 percent vacancy rate. Warehouse space asking price was up 9.7 percent for the 495 region, according to Transwestern, which also reported that while overall warehouse vacancy for the region was at 9.9 percent, high-bay vacancy was down to 7.2 percent. Driving the business There are multiple factors driving this added activity in the region, according to realtors. First, there is the ongoing pricing increase in Boston and the Route 128 corridor, as well as a push in Boston to put industrial property to residential or public space use. Yet, not everything in Massachusetts is about Boston, with the increase in rents in MetroWest reflecting an interest in being at a transportation hub for the state and in the burgeoning biotech market. "It's companies getting pushed west, and it's people operating companies out in this area who don't want to commute into Boston … I've been doing this for 14.5 years, and I've never seen it this good," said Bret O'Brien, who explained that Route 495 industrial properties demanding $7.50 a square foot a year ago are now hitting $10. Adding to the competition is that the stock of these buildings is limited, said O'Brien, who is the president of Greater Boston Commercial Properties, Inc. There are only a handful of industrial parks in the region and many business owners prefer to be within an industrial park rather than in a stand-alone indus- trial buildings. Much of the stock officially on the books is also antiquated, O'Brien said, meaning that the market is more con- strained than it might otherwise appear when just looking at vacancy rates. "Those mill buildings and multi-story industrial buildings are completely func- tionally obsolete," he said of the wood- beam construction used throughout the 20th century often turned into apart- ments or offices. The right property What was once the standard for ware- house and manufacturing space has changed, with manufacturers wanting high ceilings to stack products, easy access through multiple loading bays and load-bearing floors that can take the punishment. If you've got the right amenities, then you're in business. If not, people will just move on, said developer and entrepre- neur Steven Rothschild. Before he >> Continued from Page 1 Steven Rothschild is looking to develop more small manufac- turing spaces in industrial parks in Worcester. R E G I O N A L F O C U S: M E T R O W E S T << P H O T O / B R A D K A N E

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