Signs of life in the faltering economy are coming from the stalwart technology and life science companies of Massachusetts. In moves to save money and consolidate, much of the activity is oriented toward the Boston outskirts and even farther afield.

 

Tegra Medical has completed the relocation of its Holliston, Mass., and Cranston, R.I., facilities into a new facility in Franklin. Even as Novartis chooses to add a new facility in Cambridge, Biogen Idec will move from there to a new 350,000-sq.-ft. (32,515-sq.-m.) building in Weston in 2010. Software developer Bitstream is leaving Cambridge too, getting twice the space for the same price at Normandy Partners' Marlborough Technology Park. Normandy has also developed Adobe Systems' new digs in Waltham, a 108,500-sq.-ft. (10,080-sq.-m.) facility sold to Adobe for $44.7 million, as the company moves approximately 200 people from its leased office in nearby Newton.

 

Michael Bangs is director of global facilities operations for Adobe, overseeing a global portfolio encompassing 94 properties and 3.1 million sq. ft. (287,990 sq. m.), with 35 in Europe and the Middle East, 26 in the Asia Pacific and 33 in the Americas.

 

"High-tech companies recognize the importance of being in Boston," says Bangs, citing the area's wealth of educational institutions and the "really smart people" they turn out. "About two years ago, as our lease was to expire, we started exploring different options in the area. The right business solution was to stay, but put a more permanent solution in place. Our financials allowed us to do that."

 

At the same time, Normandy had permitted the spec building in Waltham, and was in the design phase. For the first time ever (Adobe owns only five of its 94 global properties), Adobe worked out a purchase agreement on a spec building.

 

"We felt the lead time was much shorter than if we were to start from scratch on greenfield or brownfield," says Bangs. "It was a smart move on our part. We hope to occupy in the first quarter of next year."

 

Among the smart attributes of the project was the fact that the majority of work had been accomplished by Normandy. "That was one of the reasons this was attractive to us," says Bangs, citing such items as wetland issues and the temporary shutdown of Route 128 to allow for blasting. "A lot of that development work is time consuming, and a majority of the risk takes place during the development cycle. By partnering with Normandy, we were able to avoid a lot of the risks."

 

Bangs says his team didn't look very far afield, focusing on the 128 corridor: "Boston has its traffic and transportation eccentricities, and we wanted to stay fairly close to where we were, because that's where our employees were," he says. While the initial occupancy will total approximately 200 employees, the building can hold 400. And the new center, designed around an open-office concept, will boast a much higher level of amenities, says Bangs, from on-site food service and a fitness center to advanced videoconferencing facilities.

"We feel our presence in Boston will continue to grow, and this will give us that opportunity," says Bangs.