As demand grows and supply tightens in Greater Boston’s suburbs for office space, landlords seem more eager to put down stakes in the MetroWest area, according to a report by real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle.
Over the first quarter the year, the Interstate -495 area saw six major property sales totaling $76 million, compared to just one in the same quarter in 2013. The area’s office vacancy rate fell to 19.6 percent, down 0.5 percent year over year, the report said.
Jones Lang LaSalle said that asking rents, which averaged $19.58 per square foot for the area, have climbed 6 percent over the last two years, but are still running more than 9.5 percent behind the high-water mark set in 2008.
The company also said the “live, work, play” development trend taking place in Boston and along Route 128 appears to be emerging along I-495. Atlantic Management, for one, filed plans during the first quarter to build a 153-room Hilton Garden Inn as part of a planned redevelopment of Forest Park in Marlborough. The development, which is being built in conjunction with Avalon Bay communities is expected to include 350 luxury units , 35,000-square-feet of retail and as much as 1 million-square-feet of new office space.