2024 Year in Review: John Halsey,
Cummings Properties

What noteworthy transactions or deals from this year best exemplified key market trends or shifts? 
The greater Boston commercial real estate market’s shift toward clean tech and tough tech reflects the region’s thriving innovation ecosystem and commitment to sustainable development and technological advancement. Mirroring this trend, two of our most noteworthy transactions in 2024 were new leases with Lithios, a graduate of MIT’s “The Engine” that develops electrochemical lithium extraction technology, and Nanoramic Laboratories, an energy storage technology firm that leased 40,000 s/f. Also, existing leasing client Boston Metal, which is at the forefront of decarbonizing steelmaking and transforming how metals are made, expanded by more than 10,000 s/f, bringing its footprint to 35,000 s/f.

What was your greatest professional accomplishment or most notable project, deal, or transaction in 2024? 
The Nanoramic Laboratories transaction stands out for the swiftness with which such a sizable deal took place. We executed the lease within two months of Nanoramic’s tour of the facility, and the firm moved in just three weeks later. That kind of turnaround on such a large (40,000 s/f), specialized space is rare. Previously home to another clean tech firm, the facility came with the infrastructure Nanoramic needed. Senior leasing director Rob Yacobian and I were delighted to work with David Thomann of Cushman & Wakefield to bring this rising climate tech power player to Woburn.