Glenn Verrette
Title: Principal, Cassidy Turley
Age: 55
Experience: 26 years
To say Glenn Verrette knows commercial real estate in Boston is an understatement. With 26 years of experience under his belt in the city, he’s helped work on deals from one end of the metro area to the other. He started his career with Colliers, moving to Equity Office Properties Trust, FHO Partners and now Cassidy Turley, which purchased FHO. He sat down recently with Banker & Tradesman to talk about trends in the city’s downtown office market. One of those trends includes younger companies like PayPal and Puma moving into the heart of the city from elsewhere.
Q: There’s been seriously increased activity in the office space in Boston. What’s driving the leasing velocity downtown at this point?
A: The Financial District is benefiting from the tightness from the Seaport, and the Back Bay and Cambridge, all three of those submarkets. Young companies are looking at it as a great opportunity. There’s tremendous public transportation and access, great amenities, all sorts of service amenities. I think companies are realizing that Financial District space can offer great value. If you look at the core infrastructure there, I think people are starting to value that a little more than they did a few years ago, especially the public transportation aspect. A lot of companies have already relocated to the Financial District. I think the secret’s out that this can be a very good area for some of these young growth companies that maybe looked at the Seaport and the Financial District and were deciding which was the best place for the company to locate.
Q: How does the office space of the South Station and Financial District and North Station areas differ?
A:There are differences. Certainly the [MBTA’s] Red Line is more prominent near the South Station and Downtown Crossing areas, and a lot of companies like that access over to Cambridge and back for business and for their employees. But they also have some similar characteristics in the office product they offer and the type of vibe that each area provides. There’s a bit more brick and beam style of space, like in the Seaport. There’s not as many high-rise Class A towers, but there are some and there are probably more to come. Those have also become very attractive areas to live work and play. That also helps firm’s recruiting talent, if there’s housing nearby and at a somewhat affordable price. I think we’ll continue to see positive absorption in all those pockets of the city.
Q: Is there a particular office type that younger, tech firms prefer?
A: I think tech, media companies, marketing firms, it’s really expanding. Years ago there was a certain type of product they wanted, which was the brick and beam or the older Class B, kind of funky space. Now you’re seeing a much broader spectrum of properties they’ll look at. That’s evidenced by some of the deals that have been done. Tenants are really looking at how they collaborate in their space, as well as the quality of the real estate. A lot of these Class A towers are very high quality buildings with landlords that provide a lot for their tenants. And landlords are looking at how they can make their buildings more attractive to the younger growth firms. It might be a new café, new seating or lighting … for a little less formal environment and a little more communal place for people to break out of their offices and grab a coffee and relax.
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