Significant footprint downsizing (preparing for less heads. . .) and then an abandoned campus that will slowly deteriorate like the old Endicott campus has been.
https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2021/05/14/ibm-in-midst-of-shedding-real-estate-plans-move.html
Tech behemoth IBM is consolidating its footprint along the 495 corridor in Massachusetts.
IBM (NYSE: IBM) has leased 150,608 square feet at CrossPoint in Lowell, which it will occupy early next year. Meanwhile, CBRE is marketing IBM’s former 490,119-square-foot, 41.3-acre office campus at 550 King St. in nearby Littleton for sale as a “redevelopment/repositioning opportunity.”
“IBM regularly assesses our office spaces so that our employees can do their best work in service of our clients,” said Carrie Bendzsa, an IBM spokesperson, in an email to the Business Journal. “We are initiating work to create a modern new experience for our Massachusetts Lab employees in Lowell.”
IBM will be moving into former Verizon space at CrossPoint, a three-building campus Boston’s Anchor Line Partners acquired in 2014 and subsequently invested $15 million to renovate. Software company Kronos Inc. anchors the campus.
The move comes as many large employers reconsider their real-estate footprints amid the Covid-19 pandemic. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told Yahoo Finance this week the company plans to reduce its office footprint by “tens of millions” of square feet. As of late last year, IBM owned or leased 73 million square feet globally. In the U.S., IBM owns 12 million square feet and leases 13 million square feet, according to a securities filing.
“We have invested more than $15 million into CrossPoint because we believe in this market, and we believe in providing our tenants with workspaces that energize and inspire. Despite the challenges presented by Covid-19, we are seeing these investments continue to bring new tenants and incredible talent to Lowell,” said Andrew Maher, managing partner of Anchor Line Partners, in a statement.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Blake Baldwin, Michael Dalton and Shayne O’Neil represented the landlord in the lease, with Peter Dominski, director of leasing at Anchor Line Partners, representing the ownership interest. JLL’s Brendan Callahan, Gabrielle Harvey and Brian Tisbert represented IBM.
“This transaction represents a culmination of hard work and adjusting to market needs from the team at CrossPoint, the City of Lowell and the State of Massachusetts,” said Baldwin in a statement. “CrossPoint is already home to many Massachusetts tech firms, and will continue to serve as a strong economic engine for the Bay State.”