In keeping with New Haven’s reliance on “eds and meds” as principal economic drivers, particularly in the commercial real-estate industry, the bioscience and health-care industries continued to be pace-setters in the New Haven office market in 2018.
So says a new region-wide commercial real-estate report, 2019 New England Real Estate Market, issued annually by the real-estate firm CBRE Inc.
Even as demand for generic office space remained light last year, investment by both biopharmas and the venture-capital community in New Haven-based companies and start-ups kept demand for space high.
The overall vacancy rate for the 11.7-million-square-foot greater New Haven office market decreased from 21.1 percent in Q4 of 2017 to 19.0 percent in Q3 2018 according to the CBRE report.
Over the same period the average asking rental rate in the New Haven office market rose from $17.76 per square foot to $18.37.
Other 2018 highlights:
• In the Central Business District, Boston-based molecular neuroimaging company Invicro expanded and relocated to 40,000 square feet in the former Alexion headquarters at 100 College Street.
• New Haven-based Arvinas renewed and expanded at 5 Science Park and projects rapid growth following an IPO and an $830 million collaboration deal with Pfizer.
• South Norwalk developer Spinnaker broke ground on its Audubon Square development, which will bring 269 new apartments, a 716-space parking garage and street-level retail to the downtown block once occupied by the New Haven Register.
For its 2019 New Haven office market forecast, CBRE predicted that business recruitment and retention would be a top-tier issue with a new administration assuming power in Hartford. Higher education, health care and life sciences will continue as principal drivers in both the CBD and surrounding office markets.
Contact Michael C. Bingham at mbingham@newhavenbiz.com
TRANSACTIONS
A 1,334-square-foot office unit at 2415 Boston Post Rd., Guilford has been leased to Shoreline Psychotherapy & Crisis Consultation Center LLC. Alex Klein is the principal. The tenant will use the office for a psychotherapy consultation center. The landlord, Mariner Properties, LLC, was represented in the transaction by Bill Clark of the Geenty Group, Realtors. Jennifer Gregoretti of Coldwell Banker in Madison represented the tenant.
