The collaboration is poised to increase market share and differentiate the firm’s real estate, Construction, Project and Development Services offerings. 

Servicing the hottest Life Science market arguably in the world, our regional team will partner with the scientific community by developing real estate strategies that enable the drug discovery process. Their goal is to enhance portfolio efficiencies, reduce operating costs, drive revenue and organizational growth for both startup and mid-size clients.

Don and Jim will be attending Thursday’s Massachusetts Building Congress panel discussion on The Impact of Life Sciences on Real Estate Development at the Westin Boston Waterfront. Jones Lang LaSalle is an event sponsor. Stop by and say hello.

Happy Halloween from some of our favorite little characters!

Hurricanes, floods, and snow in October. Just another season in New England.
 
I was one of the fortunate ones during  Hurricane Irene. My family was safe and there was no damage to my house. I did lose power for a week. This got me thinking about lease terms that relate to repair, services and restoration.

There is no standard language when it comes to a landlord providing services to a space. Was damage caused by the landlord’s negligence or willful misconduct? Does it have to qualify as gross negligence? What if the landlord is using reasonable efforts to remedy an interruption in services and utilities? Should it be “best efforts” or “commercially reasonable efforts?”

What happens if the landlord is unable to provide services after one, three or even ten days? Should these services be within the landlord’s reasonable control? When does the tenant’s obligation to pay rent abate?
 
I was walking through a building on the North Shore recently where the first floor had been completely flooded. The landlord had to remove carpeting and cut the sheet rock 6” above the water damage. Many of the tenants stacked furniture on top of their desks. Who is responsible for the cost to rebuild?

Many tenants do not spend much time focusing on these clauses in their lease. The focus is usually on rental rate, length of obligation and the improvement allowance. Other terms take a back seat.

No one expects to come to work and find their desk floating. It is important, however, to negotiate terms that will protect you in the event that this becomes a reality.

- Brian

Creating a web presence isn’t rocket science. The common questions that my Philly colleagues asked was “How long did it take you to set this up?” and “How much time do you spend on social media in a typical day?”

The process is front end loaded but it’s worth the time you invest. Get home from work on a Friday, pour youself your favoriate beverage, and create a Twitter profile. Once you do this and you get rolling with other applications, you’ll find that there is a universe of tools out there to help you manage content.

Social media lives in a 24/7 world. One of my favorite aspects of on-line marketing is that the internet doesn’t shut down when your prospects leave the office for their evening commute. This means that they can spend the 9 to 5 part of their day making cold calls, visiting their clients, executing deals and holding internal meetings. All the while your web presence continues on line working for you round the clock. If you ever find yourself waking up with a handful of new Twitter followers you know what I mean.

- Matt

My Philadelphia colleagues invited me to their office last week to speak about social media and technology as tools for leasing. I’ve presented on this topic to various groups but this was the most thought provoking. The audience was comprised entirely of brokers like me.

While I was planning to use Powerpoint, the presentation quickly turned into a lively discussion that went right to the bottom line benefits. Because brokers like to talk, I didn’t even have to finish my own sentences. Here is the first of a few takeaways:

The internet is beginning to move the needle toward a more targeted, analytical approach to marketing real estate as it has for so many other industries. Commercial real estate companies have to stop thinking about marketing as an excuse to create glossy brochures. Rather, it is a way to target prospects and turn them into customers via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, blogs, blog comments, and property websites with calls to action. These are all tools that will help salespeople, marketers, and brokers fill the top of their sales funnel.

To effectively manage all of these media, you have to be a marketing machine with a strategy. If your company has a marketing team like ours, they should be developing the strategy and helping you implement it. Marketing isn’t about fancy brochures. It’s all about getting found online.

- Matt

I’ve been to many trade shows during my 25 years in commercial real estate and design. I thought I was well prepared for last week’s International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) Boston Product Show at Gillette Stadium.

In the past I’d meet and greet engineer types, vendors and owners with the goal of making a few connections for future business. These events usually make for a long day but are well worth the time and energy.

There was a big difference this time. ISPE was my first show as a member of the Jones Lang LaSalle Construction team. People I met at our booth or on the floor were saying: “Jones Lang LaSalle is everywhere.” The Jones Lang LaSalle brand was a great launching point for conversation.

This made me take a step back from my day-to-day operational mindset, and think about ways to use our platform to build relationships and drive new business even during economic uncertainty. With this brand recognition, there is always a way to begin a conversation with potential clients.

- Jim

About this time last year I was at a real estate function and was talking with a well known real estate investor. After explaining that I focused on the South submarket he exclaimed: “I would never invest in that market. Not enough activity, not enough demand.” 

It’s a good thing that other investors don’t feel the same way, as sizeable transactions with major local and international players have recently closed.

The theme that jumps out when reviewing these recent trades is that investors will tolerate the risk associated with single tenanted assets, or tenants that occupy a majority of the building, as long as that tenant has credit worthiness. Also, despite the partisan debate regarding Massachusetts budget worries, assets that house state run agencies have traded hands.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the largest recent sales in the South:
* A subsidiary of Commonwealth REIT purchased 25 Newport Ave in North Quincy for $14,000,000.

* L&B Realty Advisors out of Texas purchased 690 Canton Street, Westwood for $34,500,000.

* Synergy Investment and Development bought 200 Newport Ave, North Quincy for $25,000,000.

* Synergy made another splash in the North Quincy by purchasing 100 Hancock Street for $31,300,000.

* Texas investor Hines Global REIT, bought 250 Royall Street, Canton for $57,000,000.

It will be interesting to see if this flurry of investment activity sparks a wave of subsequent trades. Like kind buildings to those that have sold are: 2000 Crown Colony in Quincy which is fully leased to BFDS; 1200 Crown Colony in Quincy fully leased to State Street Bank; and 130 Royall Street in Canton with Dunkin Brands as the sole tenant.

Another phenomenon that could occur is users that own their buildings deciding to cash in on their occupancy by conducting sale-leasebacks. Potential candidates are OneBeacon Insurance who owns and occupies 150 Royall Street in Canton, Blue Cross Blue Shield that owns and occupies Enterprise Drive in North Quincy, and One NSTAR Way in Westwood which is owned and occupied by NSTAR.

All this activity makes me sit back and wonder what the investor I mentioned earlier is thinking? Maybe we should call him to see if he wants to make an unsolicited bid on a South market asset?

-Mike