JLL: Boston lab space in hot demand

BOSTON – Lab space in Boston is counted among the most in-demand in the U.S., according to JLL, a professional services and investment management firm.
The city in general is ranked as the 10th most-traded in the world in the first half of the year, with $4.6 billion in volume.
“Vacancy for Boston area labs is minuscule right now and demand is outpacing supply at a four-to-one clip,” said Frank Petz, managing director of JLL, in a news release.
In Cambridge, laboratory vacancies are less than 1 percent, he said.
Three micro-clusters within the greater Boston area — Longwood Medical Center, Cambridge and the Seaport District — will see labs trade hands at more than $1,000 per square-foot this year, Petz said.
JLL this year brokered a nearly $300 million sale of the 42-acre site, NorthPoint in East Cambridge. The buyer of the land, DivcoWest, plans to build lab space on speculation.