George Green, Vice President of ARCO National Construction’s New England division, recently spoke at Bisnow’s Boston Industrial & Logistics Conference, joining a panel of industry leaders to discuss how developers and tenants are navigating today’s evolving industrial landscape.
As tenant needs evolve and infrastructure requirements grow more complex, Boston and New England developers face increasing pressure to deliver highly functional, future-ready industrial space. ARCO National Construction is helping lead that effort with insights from the field and proven strategies that respond to current and future challenges.
Designing for Evolving Tenant Needs in Massachusetts
Owners and developers are actively targeting a diverse mix of uses including R&D, manufacturing, life sciences, and lab space as infrastructure flexibility is key as tenants seek buildings that can meet increasingly specialized needs.
In speculative developments, many are implementing strategies that enhance long-term resiliency such as smaller initial footprints, redundant systems, and configurable layouts that support future expansion and multi-tenant occupancy.
Additionally, in Massachusetts, where more than 350 municipalities enforce their own energy codes, navigating compliance has a significant impact on project costs and early-stage estimating. Infrastructure adaptability is essential from the planning phase to meet these specialized requirements.
Engaging a contractor early in the development process enables owners and developers to make informed decisions that promote long-term versatility.
Addressing Increasing Energy & Power Requirements
Tenants are taking a long-term approach to power needs, placing a strong emphasis on energy efficiency, sustainable design, and operational resilience. Incorporating features such as solar integration and battery storage not only supports sustainability goals but also ensures facilities are future-ready. By lowering base energy loads, buildings can more effectively accommodate increased electrical demand and on-site natural gas use for specialized processing.
For speculative developments, developers are proactively designing for heavy infrastructure uses by leaving floor slabs open and limiting HVAC installations to only what is essential. This strategy maintains cost efficiency during initial construction while allowing conditioned spaces to be customized based on specific tenant requirements.
Boston’s Unique Market Dynamics
Boston stands out for its limited land availability and strong demand for proximity to innovation hubs. Unlike logistics-driven markets such as New Jersey and the Carolinas, Boston is home to more specialized tenants who place a higher priority on utility access and infrastructure readiness. These users are typically seeking spaces that are both flexible and highly functional, often requiring features like advanced MEP and expanded column spacing to support diverse and complex operational needs.
This localized trend is part of a broader national shift of industrial logistics shifting closer to urban centers, driven by the growing demand for last-mile and two-day delivery capabilities. Industries such as cold storage, food and beverage, and grocery delivery are increasingly adopting these models to better meet evolving customer expectations.
Strategic Development Amid Uncertainty
Across New England, developers are embracing flexible design, early procurement, and long-term adaptability to stay competitive in an evolving market. Multi-year strategies, a competitive subcontractor market, and early procurement of key materials are all factors that are shaping development decisions.
Additionally, a growing emphasis on domestic manufacturing and onshoring is influencing design and logistics decisions, as developers seek to reduce reliance on international suppliers and ensure greater control over production timelines. These trends are poised to significantly shape the development landscape through the remainder of 2025 and beyond.
The ARCO Advantage
As a design-builder and leading industrial contractor, ARCO National Construction helps clients navigate early-stage decisions to develop the best overall solution for their facilities. Our expertise helps clients achieve the balance of what is needed for maximum flexibility without overspending - an essential approach for developers aiming to meet the evolving needs of tenants without overextending budgets.
ARCO’s design-build approach allows clients to make decisions in a project’s earliest stages with full knowledge of their impact. Because we work directly with the architect, design can be developed with budget in mind. Throughout the design process, the ARCO team is simultaneously estimating construction costs and can accurately conceptualize the completed project before significant dollars are spent. ARCO’s industry knowledge and expertise results in solutions and alternatives that save valuable development dollars while still making a space suitable for future tenants across a range of industries.
ABOUT ARCO NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION | NEW ENGLAND
ARCO National Construction | New England is a premier, full-service design-build general contractor with more than 30 years of experience providing clients with complete project delivery throughout the United States. Our professional, qualified team of engineers, project managers, superintendents, and architects is capable of designing and building the most demanding construction projects anywhere in the country. We pride ourselves in offering the best, most cost-effective, single-source, turnkey solutions and adding value to every project.
