Sumitomo Subsidiary Inks 142 KSF Boston Lease

May 30, 2024

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W. P. Carey owns the property currently converted to life science use.

Property at 35 Crosby Drive, Bedford, Mass. — W. P. Carey expects the redevelopment efforts to be completed by late 2025. *Image courtesy of Newmark*

Persimmon Technologies, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Heavy Industries, has signed a 142,224-square-foot, long-term lease with W. P. Carey in Bedford, Mass. Newmark represented the owner, while Colliers negotiated on behalf of the tenant.

The tech firm will relocate its headquarters to 35 Crosby Drive, a flex office property currently being redeveloped into an R&D facility. Revamp completion is expected in late 2025.

Persimmon specializes in vacuum robotics for semiconductor, LED and flat panel display monitors, as well as electric motors. The firm is currently headquartered at a 1983-built property in Wakefield, Mass., and will use the newly leased space for various purposes including offices, manufacturing, testing and R&D.

Prior to the repositioning efforts, the building at 35 Crosby Drive had 207,000 square feet of space across three stories. The property featured four tailboard-high loading docks, two backup generators and 640 parking spaces. Amenities included an auditorium, cafeteria and gym.

Redevelopment plans now call for the property’s conversion to a 160,000-square-foot life science facility with a 573-space parking structure.

Located on more than 20 acres within the Route 128 Tech Corridor, 35 Crosby Drive is less than 1 mile of U.S. Route 3 and roughly 5 miles northeast of Logan Airport, as well as some 20 miles northwest of downtown Boston.

Newmark Executive Managing Directors Richard Ruggiero, Torin Taylor and Matthew Adams, together with Senior Managing Director Rory Walsh, represented W. P. Carey in the lease negotiations.

Boston’s office scene

Metro Boston boasted an impressive 13.8 million square feet of under-construction office space as of April, according to a CommercialEdge report. Representing 5.6 percent of total stock, The City on a Hill’s pipeline bucked the national average of 1.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the metro’s vacancy rate was up by 230 basis points year-over-year as of April, reaching 12.4 percent, still way below the national average of 18.8 percent. However, the office listing rate grew by 9.8 percent over the year.