2025 Year in Review: Nathan Nickerson, Fieldstone Commercial Properties, Inc.

Looking back at 2025, what deal, project, or key moment best reflected the direction of the New England CRE market this year? The deal that best reflected New England CRE’s direction in 2025 was the $74 million sale of Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ Devens facility. At ~$448 per s/f and a sub-8% cap rate, it showed capital concentrating in mission-critical, advanced manufacturing tied to energy, defense, and life sciences. Across the dataset, capital favored modern, specialized assets while commodity industrial cleared at wider spreads, confirming a bifurcated market driven by tenant quality, use-case specificity, and long-term strategic demand.

What accomplishment or milestone stood out for you or your firm in 2025?

In 2025, Fieldstone reached a clear inflection point in deal velocity and market presence within Greater Boston’s infill industrial sector. As uncertainty and hesitation shaped the market, we remained active across owner-user and investor transactions, helping clients navigate execution risk, zoning nuance, and use-driven value in shallow-bay, flex, and R&D assets. The year marked our evolution into a firm consistently engaged earlier in the decision cycle – shaping strategy, underwriting real risk, and guiding capital allocation in a fragmented market.

As you look ahead to 2026, which emerging trends or shifts will shape opportunities for you, your firm, or your market sector?

Heading into 2026, opportunity will concentrate in mid-sized industrial and flex assets where vacancy, rollover, or capital constraints force repricing. Expect more sale-leasebacks, recapitalizations, and portfolio breakups as owners reset basis. Tenants tied to manufacturing, defense, energy, and life sciences will continue to anchor value, while commodity space trades on execution, not story. Firms that can underwrite operational risk, lease-up timelines, and structure creative exits – not just quote comps – will outperform.