Monthly Archives: September 2013

0 Downtown Crossing’s Millennium Project Gets Grocery Store

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Millennium Place in Downtown Crossing

Rendering of Millennium Place in Boston

Our city continues to grow and expand. The addition of grocery stores helps establish a community, which we are seeing at Downtown Crossing’s Millennium project. Now those future residents can really live and work without relying on their car for milk, bread and batteries for the next Nor’easter.

“Massachusetts-based grocery store chain Roche Bros. will open its first downtown Boston location in late 2014…Roche Bros…[joining] advertising firm Arnold Worldwide as the first tenants of the new tower, and will move in by September 2014,” a BBJ article covering the Millennium Project’s future tenant, reports.

For more information on the announcement, continue on to the full article on the Boston Business Journal.

Additional details about the property are available on our residential website: Millennium Project in Downtown Crossing.

0 Boston Office Market Tilts in Favor of Landlords

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Office Building at 116 Huntington Ave. in Boston

116 Huntington Ave. office building in Boston

Rents are up and vacancy is down; this is a good sign for landlords, but not as beneficial for the tenants. Value options still exist in the low rise Class A space and Class B space, particularly within second generation space.

The Boston Business Journal offers some numbers to help explain what started this current trend:

“Over the past year, three million square feet of office space has been absorbed as tenants inked deals in the Financial District, Midtown, North and South Station and Charlestown. Boston’s overall availability rate fell slightly to 15.1 percent from July through September, down from 16.6 percent for the same period one year ago. As availability fell, rents in the Hub’s submarkets swelled by nearly 6 percent to $51.96, up from $49.07 one year ago.”

For more information, read the Boston Business Journal’s article: Market Improving for Landlords

0 Suburban Banks Trending to Boston Locations

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Credit: The Boston Globe

The banks are coming the banks are coming! It’s true; smaller suburban banks have been expanding their retail presence along with offices to service their city customers. The current population is about 636,479 which is up by 1.8%.

The Boston Globe recently detailed the suburban bank migration to the city, noting “part of the attraction is the prestige and validation that a Boston address can confer on community banks. But more practically, their moves reflect the demographic shift that is swelling Boston’s population. Just as businesses followed people to the suburbs during the urban exodus of the late 20th century, so are they chasing them as the appeal of city life has returned.”

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0 Back Bay to get Nantucket Restaurant Lola 41

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More food choices are headed to Back Bay, including Nantucket restaurant, Lola 41, owned by Marco Coelho. Lola 41 is moving towards an agreement on a location at 50 Gloucester St. in Boston’s Back Bay.

Lola 41 main food course

Credit: Lola 41

According to the Boston Business Journal, “a restaurant called Ambrosia on Gloucester was recently reported to be opening at 50 Gloucester St,” however, the sushi, seafood, and burger restaurant from Nantucket apparently got the location.

More details on the restaurant and its new location are available on the BBJ.

If you’re excited for the new restaurant and want to check out office space available in the area, continue on to view our Back Bay offices for lease.

0 Marty Walsh would put City Hall up for Sale

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Boston City Hall

Credit: Boston Business Journal

So, politics aside should the city sell city hall for redevelopment?  Personally I am in favor of this and not simply based on economics. The standards that are available in the construction industry far surpass available options of ‘67, how we use space has evolved, and we have learned to do more with less.

The mayoral race seems to still be very crowded, but this got my attention.

The Boston Business Journal reported, “State Rep. Martin Walsh, a candidate for Boston mayor, wants to sell Boston’s City Hall to a private developer – who would presumably bulldoze the much-maligned structure and its underused, adjacent plaza in favor of hotels, apartments and retail development.”

Walsh spoke with the Boston Herald and noted, “You could put a hotel boutique here. You could put a full hotel here. You could have an office building. You could put so much in this area…we could have shops … that would fit in with Faneuil Hall Marketplace.”

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0 Waltham, Newton, and Burlington Office Markets Gaining Popularity

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Office Space in Newton at 60 Wells Avenue

60 Wells Avenue in Newton

Is there a mass exodus from the city?  Well, no. Companies are continuing to flock to markets that benefit their customers, employees, and work atmosphere. If office locations were solely based on price then we would see the tweener markets benefit.  As we know, there are many contributing factors; in some cases public transportation is the driver, for others it could be the think tank of Kendall Square.  Vacancy rates in the city and surrounding office markets have all benefited from the stronger economy.

A study discussed in the Boston Globe, notes “Waltham is the hottest office market in the state outside of Boston and Cambridge, leading a surge in corporate real estate activity along the Route 128 corridor…but Burlington and Newton are not too far behind.”

Jump over to BostonGlobe.com to read more.

0 Back Bay Office Tower Approved

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Back bay office tower graphic

Credit: The Boston Globe

Our city continues to grow up. Literally. The newest building approved in Boston is 691 feet. The tallest current building in the city is the John Hancock, at 790 feet, built in 1976. Coming in second is the Prudential Tower at 750 feet, built in 1964. The only building to make the list and built in the 80’s, was One International Place at 600 feet built in 1987.

From 1987 to present we have not seen any new construction over 600 feet. Currently there are three projects that are all 600 feet plus.

The Boston Globe reported on the announcement:

“The 58-story building, at the corner of Belvidere and Dalton streets, will add another major peak on the high spine of the Back Bay and bring thousands of new residents and visitors to one of the city’s most celebrated landmarks…The 950,000-square-foot development also includes a 25-story tower with 255 apartments; both buildings will have retail and restaurant spaces. Construction is scheduled to start early next year.”

Jump over to the Boston Globe’s website to read the full editorial.

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0 Construction to begin on Filene’s tower and New Balance HQ

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Rendering of the proposed New Balance HQ in Downtown Crossing Boston

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Downtown Crossing is set to host the groundbreaking ceremony for the Filene’s Tower. This area of the Financial District has seen a large influx of Class B tenants over the 1st of ’13 that has driven pricing up to the low $30’s PSF within that segment.

“Plans for the $615 million Millennium Tower and adjacent Burnham building, the original Filene’s store, include 600 condominiums and apartments, up to 218,000 square feet of office space and 231,000 square feet of retail,” a Boston Business Journal report states.

The full BBJ article is available on its website: Construction set for Filene’s in Downtown Crossing.

0 Fort Point Channel to get Boxing Yoga. Yes, Boxing Yoga

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Fort-Point Channel Boston

Credit: Friends of Fort Point Channel

If you box and like yoga, Boston’s Innovation, Seaport, and Fort Point Channel has something for you:  Boxing Yoga.  I must admit, I do neither of those two activities.  George Foreman, III, however, will be offering class at 15 Channel Center starting in December.

Boston.com writes, “the Boston Innovation District, or at least its edges, could soon be home to a luxury gym where George Foreman III plans to teach classes on the sweet science in new, innovative ways to a membership likely to include off-duty entrepreneurs, biotech types, and folks who’ve put on too much weight at the many new restaurants on the South Boston Waterfront.”

The full Boston.com article is available on its website: George Foreman III Brings Boxing Yoga to Fort Point Channel

0 Seaport Parking Lot Marked for Condos

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Parking lot at corner of Congress and Farnsworth Street

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Does this look like your parking space in the Seaport?  If so, this could be home to a new condo project, and gone would be the surface-level parking near the Boston Children’s Museum.

A BBJ editorial provides some context for the project, noting, “Redgate Real Estate Advisors is in talks with the owner about buying the 4,939-square-foot lot at 338 Congress St. at the corner of Farnsworth Street. The parcel is assessed at $495,500, but would probably fetch more than five time that amount if sold.”

Additional details are available on The Boston Business Journal’s website