MBTA construction workers conduct repairs near the agency's Wellington station in Medford on Aug. 22, 2022 during the month-long Orange Line maintenance shutdown. Photo courtesy of the MBTA
The month-long closure of the MBTA’s Orange Line is not putting off potential biotech tenants in transit-dependent locations despite the “headaches” it’s causing.
“I don’t think it really changes the calculus of large companies making long-term strategic decisions,” said Mark Bruso, senior research manager at brokerage JLL New England.
Bruso was speaking as part of a virtual panel discussion Monday organized by Banker & Tradesman on the pressures facing the Greater Boston life science real estate sector. Other speakers included Alex Mancuso, director of East Coast and U.K. leasing for developer BioMed Realty, and Liz Berthelette, director of research for brokerage Newmark.
Many scientists’ decisions to put down roots in transit-dependent cities like Somerville, Cambridge and Boston help influence companies’ decisions on where to locate, Bruso said. Those roots, he noted, mean the talent some life science tenants need to operate will stay concentrated in the cities.
“Is it ideal that the orange line is shut down right now? No. But it’s also not permanent,” Mancuso said. “If anything I’m thrilled to see the MBTA taking more of an aggressive approach to repairs. I think we can all agree that the constant unreliability of both the subway lines and the commuter rail has been a headache for a lot of people.”
Even a partial Red Line shutdown, rumored to be in the works for the fall in order to address degrading track conditions between the line’s Alewife and Park Street stations, wouldn’t be a deal-breaker for many tenants, Mancuso and Bruso said.
“I think if [tenants] are already in the city and they want to be in the city, they are going to want to sign leases the Seaport, in Fenway, in East Cambridge and I don’t think a Red Line closure will really affect that,” Bruso said.
If the shutdowns perform as advertised and repair crews are able to head off future delays and problems on the trains, Mancuso said, the experience could ultimately be a net benefit for transit-oriented projects and tenants’ faith in Greater Boston’s transit system.
“The fact [MBTA leaders] are moving so aggressively to complete the repairs that need to get done is only going to be a positive in the long term,” he said.
The T said over the weekend it has so far completed about 37 percent of its planned work on the line during the first 10 days of the 30-day Orange Line shutdown.
