City Grill

Jarret Johnson 

Principal – Boston

DeSimone Consulting Engineering

With slowing life science work and a stagnating commercial office market, smaller transit-oriented residential developments are growing, Johnson says, thanks to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Communities Act requiring multifamily development near its rail stations. 

Universities are pivoting from the life sciences downturn with “phased construction, cautious leasing and altered tenant mixes to adapt to weaker demand for lab space and a more tenant-favorable market, even as projects in the pipeline continue,” he adds.

Johnson says some planned lab developments pivoted to “multifamily and other uses,” a trend he expects to continue as “the amount of available lab space remains at record highs with only nominal upticks in the amount of market absorption.”

Developers are “cautiously optimistic for 2026 as they wait to see how continued upward pressure on construction costs and changing tariffs will impact the costs of new construction projects,” he says, adding that Boston remains a “strong market.”