Law firms, life sciences companies highlight Q1 office leasing market

CBRE tracked 1.5 million square feet in total leasing activity in northern New Jersey for during the first quarter of this year, with law firms and life sciences among the most active renters, according to GlobeSt. The region saw the strongest first quarter activity since 2014 with a 38 percent spike in quarter-over-quarter leasing activity, as noted by CBRE. The commercial real estate services firm said that the availability rate ended the quarter at 20.1 percent, 30 basis points below the fourth quarter of 2018. CBRE found that the Hudson waterfront submarket recorded the highest average asking rate at $43.89 per-square-foot, followed by the Chatham, Millburn and Short Hills submarkets, which recorded averages asking rents at $35.38 per-square-foot. Real Estate NJ recently reported on leading Garden State law firm DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Giblin moving into 42,000 square feet of space at a new headquarters in Paramus, a deal brokered by JLL. Meanwhile, Colliers International and Transwestern Commercial Services arranged a lease last week for Celgene therapeutics spinoff Celularity to occupy 147,215 square feet in Florham Park, as noted by ROI-NJ. NJBIZ reported that Celularity’s new headquarters, which is part of a two-building campus totaling 368,780 square feet, was the largest new office lease in New Jersey during the first quarter. CBRE, however, said it was the second-largest deal in the region behind said it was the second largest deal in the region behind SubCom, which renewed its Monmouth County lease for 186,790 square feet at 250 Industrial Way West in Eatontown. [GlobeSt]