October 2025 Boston Industrial Report
The Greater Boston industrial market currently finds itself in a state of tentative stasis.
Vacancies have risen to 9.4% - one of the highest readings in the past ten years.
As has been the case for the past year, this is mostly attributable to the vast amount of new supply that has come online in recent years. Leasing velocity has not only failed to keep up with the new supply, but is in fact lagging its historical average. The amount of flex and industrial space available for sublet continues to increase, mirroring the challenging fundamentals we have observed with both office and life science space throughout the region.
On the topic of subleases, there were several significant additions in recent months.
- Red Line Freight put their 307,107 SF footprint up for sublease at 631 Airport Road in Fall River just two years after commencing their lease.
- In Franklin, Cold Chain Technologies, a service provider who offers insulated packaging solutions to life sciences industry, let go of 150,000 SF of their space – further exacerbating oversupply issues in the south market.
- North of the city, Lockheed Martin has listed their 97,000 SF footprint at 160 Dascomb Road in Andover.
- In Lowell, furniture retailer Raymour Flanigan simultaneously acquired 240 Industrial Ave from Oliver Street Capital and posted 70,000 SF of the 167,000 SF asset for sublease, representing 42% of the property’s footprint.
Development remains muted. In the face of higher interest rates, softening demand, and increasing vacancy rates, developers have hit the brakes on new, speculative construction, especially for massive blocks of space. Regardless, the most notable groundbreaking came from GenesisM, a joint venture between Bain Capital and Botanic Properties. They announced the official groundbreaking of their 154,000 SF cGMP biomanufacturing facility on Crosby Drive in Bedford. In terms of deliveries: 23 Cape Road in Mendon, a 205,557 SF distribution asset developed by Bluewater Property Group hit the inventory this month with no preleasing. King Street Properties announced the completion of their fourth building at the Pathways Campus in Devens, a 230,000 SF speculative development initially intended as a cGMP site. This asset has also delivered with no announced leasing. While the Devens campus has met significant success with their previous assets, leasing 187,000 SF to climatetech firm Electric Hydrogen, 101,000 SF to battery technology developer Ascend Elements, and an additional 103,000 SF to Azzur Group - it is worth noting that both Azzur and Ascend Elements now have both of their buildings available on a direct and sublet basis, respectively. Finally, Rhino Capital, in partnership with Taunton Development/Mass Development Corp., completed their 180,000 SF advanced manufacturing facility on Dever Drive in Taunton.
Sales activity has been fairly robust, outpacing the relative malaise the market has experienced in the past three years. While there is a further detail in this report on notable sales, it is worth mentioning an interesting development in Gloucester. Applied Materials (NQ: AMAT), a publicly traded corporation that supplies equipment and services for the semiconductor industry, has been in acquisition mode. In August, they acquired 41 Great Republic Drive, a 24,000 SF warehouse facility, expanding their presence in Gloucester to at least four buildings. It is also worth noting that AMAT just executed a lease for office space at 201 Broadway in Cambridge, a building Hunneman represents.
For more information please contact:
Mark Fallon, Director of Research & Strategy | mfallon@hunnemanre.com
