David Townsend joined Newmark in 2015 as an Executive Managing Director in the firm’s Boston office. He specializes in lease transactions in the Cambridge area with a concentration on tenant and landlord advisory work.
Prior to joining Newmark, Townsend worked for 16 years at Cushman & Wakefield. During his career, he and his team advised many of the major companies and property owners in Cambridge, one of the preeminent life science and technology clusters in the world.
Townsend’s tenant advisory experience includes work on behalf of global organizations such as Draper Laboratory, Novartis, Pfizer and Symantec as well as early- to mid-stage companies including Aurora Flight Sciences, Forma Therapeutics, Iora Health and iZotope. Townsend has deep roots in the local innovation and entrepreneurial community and has advised Cambridge Innovation Center, LabCentral, and MassRobotics on their real estate. Client assignments range from finding the first office or lab for early-stage companies to large, urban campus assemblages.
Townsend’s landlord advisory practice includes representing many of the most active property owners and developers in Cambridge, including Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Deutsche Asset and Wealth Management, DivcoWest, Jamestown, King Street Properties and MIT Investment Management Corporation. He heads the leasing efforts for some of the most iconic and recognizable office and laboratory buildings in Cambridge including One Kendall Square and Riverfront Office Park.
Townsend started his career working as a Director at The Codman Company, a privately held real estate firm in Boston.
Townsend grew up in Maine and currently lives in Belmont, Massachusetts, with his wife, Sara, and their three children. He is active in Belmont Youth Baseball and Soccer.
Education
Townsend received a Bachelor of Arts degree in government and economics from Hamilton College in upstate New York.