Christopher Curley
Title: Executive vice president, NAI Hunneman
Age: 49
Experience: 19 years
The start of 2018 marked a homecoming for Christopher Curley as he rejoined Boston-based NAI Hunneman as executive vice president in its leasing and advisory services team. A veteran office broker with a concentration on the north suburban market, Curley began his commercial real estate career at Hunneman in 1999 before moving on to roles with at GVA Thompson Doyle Hennessey & Stevens and The Codman Co. prior to its acquisition by Newmark Knight Frank.
Q: What were the market conditions like in the northern suburbs during your first stint at NAI Hunneman from 1999 to 2002?
A: It was the hottest market the country’s ever seen. I was riding the dotcom wave and I thought, “This is going to be easy.” Castle Networks and Kronos were growing as companies and CMGI had an incubator of 16 dotcoms at Brickstone Square in Andover. CrossPoint (in Lowell) had been sold and was going from the Wang Tower to CrossPoint, and being converted from a giant single-tenant to multi-tenant space, and that story has replicated itself, having been sold again.
Q: Is the north suburban office market rebounding this year?
A: It definitely has been a healthier market. It seems like a lot of the renewals are for a little extra space, so it’s adding to absorption. It’s not fast and furious, but it seems to be healthy. The market has changed, and the new owners have come in with a lower basis, updating common areas and facades, which was deferred maintenance on these assets. Brickstone Square has had significant absorption. When I was at Newmark, Corning took an entire building that was renovate on spec at 200 Innovation Drive in Tewksbury.
Q: How are suburban landlords trying to stay competitive with downtown Boston and the inner ring?
A: The historical suburban tenants are typically more price-conscious and rule out coming into the city. However, the last couple of years we’ve seen a big change where the labor base wants to be closer to downtown. Once they can digest paying one and a half to two times the rent of the suburbs, they see the value of being downtown.
But it’s not for every tenant. There are spaces in the 495 North market that are quiet and have been for years. As you get closer to I-93, such as Andover, those markets have seen great improvement. There is some rent appreciation going on. Concessions are high, but they are coming down.
Q: What’s been the response to the town of Chelmsford’s rezoning of the Route 129 corridor in 2016?
A: Once groups have effectively bought into it and found the right developers to start to do those approved retail uses and add some amenities near the (Route 3) exit, it’s going to be fantastic. The one downside to Route 129 is there’s nothing up there at all. If you’re an employee and you want to get something to eat or go to the gym, you have to get in your car. That has hurt leasing. But DCU bought the former Kronos headquarters, so things are starting to turn around.
Q: What opportunities do you see in Woburn as the city considers new zoning for the Commerce Way corridor?
A: The Woburn market, especially for flex and industrial space, is as tight as I’ve seen in my career. I’m working with 80,000 square feet (of requirements) from flex users, and I have nowhere to put them. It’s far more difficult if they’re an owner-user and looking to buy. 40-year-old flex buildings that need a ton of updating and infrastructure are trading at $100 to $120 a foot, empty. There are several sites right now in the Woburn and Wilmington area that have been dormant, but have build-to-suit possibilities. It’s finally getting to the point they may become spec properties because the flex rents are so high.
Q: How would you rate the prospects for filling up the former Polartec headquarters?
A: The majority of requirements right now are 30,000 to 50,000 square feet, and any facility of size that’s got a decent location with high ceiling heights, floor loads and good power will fit the bill for a flex user all the way from Woburn to the Merrimack Valley. They have just as good a chance of doing one large deal as a multitenant (leasing strategy).
Curley’s Five Favorite Restaurants in Boston:
- Taranta
- Bricco
- Abe & Louie’s
- Nebo
- Lolita in Fort Point
