Page 38 - BusinessWest January 24, 2022

Commercial Real Estate
Activity Report
Mitch Bolotin, left, and partner Kevin Morin stand near the entrance to 11 Interstate Dr. in West Springfield, which recently welcomed a new tenant, Millipore Sigma, which absorbed 27,000 square feet in the office building.
Commercial Real-estate Market Sees Movement in Many Categories
Looking back, area commercial real-estate brokers, managers, and developers said 2021 was
a busy year with activity across all sectors and especially the retail side and the white- hot industrial segment of the market. On the office side, there was less movement and more question marks due to COVID- 19 and uncertainty about when and under what circumstances workers will return to the office. The expectation for 2022 is for more of all of the above.
By George O’Brien
A
“There is going to be some creative reuse of office space, and retail space, in this region.”
rea commercial real-estate brokers, developers, and property managers spoke with one voice when they told BusinessWest that there can be activity in their sector — and sometimes lots of activity — even
when the economy is not hitting on all cylinders. And this fact of life certainly helps explain why most brokers
said 2021, year two of the pandemic, was one of the busiest years they’ve seen recently.
Indeed, there were some business closures and companies mov- ing on from their leases, said those we spoke with, and other busi- nesses downsizing for one of many reasons — all of which created movement in the market.
But there were many other forces contributing to this move-
ment, and most of them were positive, said Mitch Bolotin, a princi- pal and vice president of Springfield-based Colebrook Realty Services.
Listing them, he noted everything from low interest rates to the continued growth of the state’s cannabis industry, which has been absorbing industrial and retail space in communities across the region; from the improved health
38 JANUARY 24, 2022 COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE BusinessWest