{"id":1004132064,"date":"2015-11-19T07:57:19","date_gmt":"2015-11-19T15:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004132064"},"modified":"2020-05-18T01:08:42","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T09:08:42","slug":"tech-drives-bay-area-to-top-of-americas-most-expensive-streets-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/tech-drives-bay-area-to-top-of-americas-most-expensive-streets-list\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech Drives Bay Area to Top of \u2018America\u2019s Most Expensive Streets\u2019 List"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Gail Kalinoski<\/em><\/p>\n

Three of the top five \u201cMost Expensive Streets\u201d in the United States are located in the Bay Area, with Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, Calif., coming in at first place with the most expensive average rent in the country.<\/p>\n

For the third time in a row, Sand Hill Road is at the top of JLL<\/a>\u2019s rankings of \u201cAmerica\u2019s Most Expensive Streets\u201d<\/a>, with a 2015 average rent of $141.60 per square foot, which is 27 percent more than the last report in 2013. Home to venture capital firms like Blackstone<\/a>, Greylock<\/a> and Shasta Ventures<\/a>, JLL calls it the \u201cVC firm nerve center.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hamilton Avenue in Palo Alto, Calif. came in second place. JLL notes that the tech industry played a large role in Hamilton Avenue\u2019s rise to second. Two years ago, it wasn\u2019t even among the top 10 most expensive streets. Now its vacancy rate is 0.8 percent, and its 2015 average rent is $124.44 per square foot, up more than 31 percent since 2013.<\/p>\n

\"Hugh<\/a>

Hugh Scott, JLL, tenant representation<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWalk down Hamilton Avenue and you\u2019ll see it\u2019s lined with tech companies and venture capital\/private equity firms \u2013 it really is the center of the Silicon Valley world,\u201d said Hugh Scott, managing director with JLL\u2019s tenant representation. \u201cThe surrounding streets are similar to Hamilton Avenue; home to tech tenants and located near Stanford University. But Hamilton Avenue simply has more office product than many of the other streets in and around Palo Alto and tenants are taking every opportunity to grab whatever space they can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mission Street in San Francisco, another hot tech corridor that didn\u2019t even break the top 10 in 2013, supplanted the city\u2019s previous most expensive street \u2013 California Street \u2013 and came in fifth this year, just behind Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich, Conn. With an average 2015 rent of $89.58 per square foot, Mission Street made its mark because of the rise of tech developments south of Market Street and its location near the Transbay redevelopment<\/a>, which includes a new transit terminal and skyscrapers like the 61-story, 1.4 million-square-foot Salesforce Tower<\/a> under construction at 1st<\/sup>, Mission and Fremont Streets.<\/p>\n

The JLL report notes that Mission Street\u2019s first appearance on the Top 10 list is \u201cemblematic of the fundamental shifts in the area, San Francisco\u2019s most expensive street changed in 2015 from California Street to Mission Street.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fifth Avenue<\/a> in Manhattan, which faces competition from creative space in Midtown South that is very attractive to tech and new media companies, as well as rising micro-markets like Bryant Park and Columbus Circle, still reached third, dropping down one spot from two years ago. With its 2015 average rent of $119.27 per square foot, JLL notes that Fifth Avenue is still the \u201cpremier address\u201d in New York City, and home to many financial, law and private equity firms.<\/p>\n

Right behind, in fourth place, is Greenwich Avenue in Fairfield County, Conn., known as a hub for hedge funds that offers proximity to New York City. With a slowdown in Fairfield\u2019s office market in recent years, Greenwich Avenue\u2019s average rent dropped nearly 3 percent from 2013, but it still commands $90.25 per square foot.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania Avenue<\/a> in Washington, D.C., is another place where rents have dropped since the last survey, but at $72.65 per square foot, \u201cAmerica\u2019s Main Street<\/a>\u201d is sixth, and still has international name recognition due to its location near the White House and Capitol. JLL expects rents to rise with increased tenant demand and the redevelopment of marquee buildings.<\/p>\n

\"Ben<\/a>

Ben Heller, managing director with JLL\u2019s agency leasing.<\/p><\/div>\n

Boylston Street in Boston\u2019s Back Bay has more retail and restaurants than office buildings, but JLL notes there are high-profile office properties<\/a> consisting mainly of hedge funds, law and private equity firms. A 17-story, 425,000-square-foot building is under construction at 888 Boylston<\/a> that will have Natixis Global Asset Management<\/a> as its main tenant. The street comes in seventh, with a 2015 average rent of $67.44 per square foot. Additional retail and hotel space is also coming to Boylston Street.<\/p>\n

\u201cTenants will pay a little bit more in rent to have restaurants, retail, entertainment and residential right by the office \u2013 their employees are demanding this,\u201d said Ben Heller, managing director with JLL\u2019s agency leasing. \u201cThe \u2018live\/work\/play\u2019 dynamic is the real deal and it\u2019s being built up in other corridors in Boston such as the Seaport District. Going forward, surrounding amenities will play a huge rule in where a tenant signs their lease.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rounding out the Top 10 are:<\/strong><\/p>\n