More Power? Real Estate Pro Says Boston Can Handle High-Tech Influx

BOSTON-Despite the press that has been given to a possible shortfall in electrical power, Leigh Freudenheim, vice president of locally based Meredith & Grew/Oncor, isn’t worried. In a recent interview with GlobeSt.com, Freudenheim relates his faith that the city is savvy enough to meet the demand and foster rather than turn away from growth.

“There are some concerns in the market that there’s not enough power to supply the demand,” he states. “There’s plenty for today, but the argument is that tomorrow could be a headache, even though we’re building a substation and beefing up circuits.” It wasn’t all that long ago, he recounts, that people would laugh at the thought of supplying 80 watts per foot to some tenants. “There are data centers that are now demanding 75 to 150,” and a proliferation of high-demand tech types could blow the fuse. Meredith & Grew closed Globix’s 450,000-sf deal in April and Global Crossing’s 350,000-sf transaction a month earlier. Both were in the TechnoCorridor.

Despite the fear, Freudenheim, who heads M&G’s telecom group, places his bets with a business-savvy government. “Boston’s working on it,” he says. “Power is a commodity that is very flexible, and Boston is very flexible in how it makes deals. So a lot of those arrangements are happening. Boston will be a leading telecom provider.”

With money drying up for many telecom firms and a major wave of consolidations expected, does Freudenheim see a ceiling to growth approaching? “There’s some degree of truth in that, but the fundamentals of telecom are very sound,” he says. “Also, though the equipment is getting smaller and there is less need for real estate, the applications are going to explode, easily ten-fold. We’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg.” Rents, he predicts, will grow at least 20% to 30% over the next couple of years as a result, Freudenheim concludes, and the TechnoCorridor as a whole will grow by 20%.