0 Development underway on $320 million mixed-use building near Fenway

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Rendering of proposed mixed-use development in Fenway on Boylston Street

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Would you take a $320 million gamble? It appears the Boston office market will embrace it. We have seen office vacancy’s drop while rents have continued upward over the recent years. The Boston office market has tremendous barriers to entry for new product, thus creating a supply and demand problem. Tenants are anxious to capitalize on the benefits of new construction, which allows them to be more efficient with the square footage per employee.

Developer Samuels & Associates is attempting to capitalize on the trend, beginning construction on a new office building on Boylston Street in Fenway. An article on the Boston Business Journal’s website reports:

Samuels & Associates is underway with construction of VanNess, a $320 million mixed-use project fronting on Boylston Street near Fenway Park. Slated for completion in 2015, the project is designed to include two buildings: an 8-story building housing 232,000 square feet of office space and another 11-story building with 172 residential apartments. The development also will include 210,000 square feet of retail space anchored by a 170,000-square-foot City Target, a new small-footprint store format launched by Target Corp. last year. There will also be about a dozen other retailers.

The full article is available on the BBJ.

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Fenway Office Space

0 Boston Seaport District to House New $42M Boutique Hotel

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Boston is home to some of the highest rooms rates in the country for hotels combined with a very limited supply. If you are coming to town to visit one of your new portfolio technology companies in the Seaport you will have a new spot. Sleeper Street, will be home to 136 room boutique hotel.

A Boston Business Journal report reveals, “the 100,000-square-foot Envoy Hotel, to be built at 66 Sleeper St., is slated to include 136 luxury guest rooms as well as a restaurant and bar. The plan also calls for a public roof deck with a bar and lounge that will offer city views. It will be located across the street from the John Joseph Moakley federal court house and one block inland from the Barking Crab restaurant in South Boston.”

Full Details are available on the BBJ’s website: Seaport Hotel set for 66 Sleeper Street

0 Mayor Menino’s Legacy

Posted on October 12, 2013 by Wil Catlin

What will we remember Mayor Menino for? For me, his passion. I did not always agree with his position on issues, but I loved his passion for the job.

Boston Magazine just published a retrospective, of sorts, outlining Mayor Menino’s hits and misses in office. The list includes what the magazine’s editors deem to be “the best and worst of his time in office.” If nothing else, it’s a timely read and an interesting recap of one of the more active Mayors in Boston’s history.

The article can be found on Boston Magazine’s website, here.

0 Boston Mayoral Candidate, Walsh, Would be Pro-Development

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker & Tradesman

If you are a single issue voter and a developer, your choice could be clear.

A well-organized Banker & Tradesman editorial has outlined the mayoral race with respect to each candidate’s potential impact on commercial real estate market:

But the Dorchester state rep is also popular with the developers and construction bosses, tough, no-nonsense men he has surely dealt with on the other side of the negotiating table, scooping up several thousand dollars in campaign contributions in the last month alone. This flood of cash from well-off builders underscores a key, if little-examined, facet of Boston’s pivotal mayoral race: Other than electing International Place builder Don Chiofaro or Suffolk Construction czar John Fish to the mayor’s office, it’s hard to imagine a potential future chief executive of Boston who is likely to be more aggressively pro-development than Walsh.

The full editorial is available on the B&T website.

0 Boston Office Rents Climb 3.5 percent

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Herald

This is only part of the story. True, rental rates have risen, but the overall occupancy cost has risen even more than just the rental rates. In a rising market, like we are currently in, landlord’s contribute less in tenant improvement costs and offer much less rent abatement. This then translates into a higher occupancy cost. During a down market, a landlord could offer 125 percent of the first years rent to go improvements of the space, that number now could be 75 percent of the first years rent.

The Boston Herald’s analysis notes “office rents in Greater Boston grew at an even higher rate — 3.9 percent — primarily due to strong growth in Cambridge, downtown Boston and the northwest submarket, the report found. And rents may begin to rise at an even faster rate because employment levels in office jobs are reaching pre-recession levels.”

The Herald article can be found here: Hub Office Rates Jump

0 Sale of Vertex Towers Being Considered

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

If you dream it, build it and lease it; they will come. As much is true at least if you’re Joe Fallon, developer of Fan pier.

A Boston Business Journal report notes that Fallon, the creator of the Seaport’s Waterfront Towers, is considering another sale that would impact that market. According to the BBJ, “Fallon will sell the two Vertex towers on Fan Pier at the right price.”

Further details on the potential sale of Vertex towers can be found on the BBJ.

0 Seaport Traffic Signs Attempt to Minimize Gridlock

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: The Boston Globe

What is the quickest way home from the office via car? As we all know, this can change based on the day or time of day. Well, there’s an app for that, kind of. The city will be trying out LED signs that are updated remotely with real-time data. The longer-term goal is to make this available online as well.

My plan would be to integrate Google Traffic on a street by street basis and make that available on the LED signs.

The Boston Globe reported “the LED boards will be posted at the exits of high-volume parking garages, providing drivers with real-time driving estimates to help them make more educated decisions — and to help them get the heck out of Dodge as quickly as possible. Three of the signs are set to appear next month.”

Additional details are available on the Boston Globe’s website: Signs to Ease Way out of Seaport

0 Fenway Center Hits Roadblocks

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Architects rendering of Fenway Center in Boston

Credit: The Architectural Team via Boston Business Journal

Does building over the Turnpike have to make roadblocks? Projects of this nature — like Fenway Center — simply take time and patience.

Amid a number of delays, the BBJ has directed it’s readers to one of the project’s positives to date:

“one part of the development is nearing completion. The new $13.5 million Yawkey Commuter Rail Station reconstruction project, a major component of the development paid for by the state, is underway and ahead of schedule and could be open in a few months.”

The full article is posted on the Boston Business Journal

0 Indoor Cycling Chains Enter Boston Market

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: ncsl.org

When we Bostonian’s think about New York and rivalries we think about Yankees and Jets. Now we have a fresh New York rivalry coming to our hometown, indoor cycling. Truth be told, I am not an expert on this, but I strongly believe in healthy competition. According to the NCSL, Massachusetts has an obesity rate of 22.7 percent compared to New York of 24.5 percent. So if you want to get healthy and reduce you body mass index visit Flywheels new center at the Prudential complex.

Additional health statistics, along with a state-by-state analysis are available on the National Conference of State Legislatures website.

0 Boston Harbor Garage version 2.0

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Boston Harbor Garage plans for redevelopment

Credit: Boston Globe

It seems that the new vision for the Boston Harbor garage is far more aligned with the community interests. Community interest at times can be hard to quantify, but when they are against you, you know it. The real question is the height of the parking structure.

The Boston Globe reports “after shelving a prior scheme for two skyscrapers on the garage site, Chiofaro is pitching an array of new ideas, with one key difference. This time, he is trying to focus the public’s attention on what could be constructed on the building’s ground floor, instead of along the skyline.”

The insightful piece on the new plans for the Harbor Garage redevelopment can be found on the Boston Globe’s website.