0 Tech Banking Office opens in Financial District Boston

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Boston is home to some creative entrepreneurial companies that innovate continuously. Wells Fargo, amongst others, are after their deposits and corporate banking requirements. The days have gone by of old school banking, we now, as customers, require Apps.

From the BBJ:

“Wells Fargo & Co. is expanding its Silicon Valley-based technology banking group into Boston, and it has pinched executives from two high profile competitors to run the new office…The Boston office at 101 Federal St. will be run by commercial bankers Debra DelVecchio and David Dickinson.”

The full articles is available on the Boston Business Journal’s website.

0 Price of Office Space in Boston’s Innovation District Still Climbing

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Wil Catlin

How expensive is the Innovation Districtt? Well, Boston’s Innovation District has pulled neck-and-neck with Back Bay. The Innovation District has benefited from a tremendous influx of tenants that could no longer afford East Cambridge and Kendall Square. Now with prices at or above pre-crash levels, the value play is within the low-rise Class A and Class B office space in the Financial District.

Office space in Boston's Innovation district and Back Bay

Credit: Boston Globe

A managing director at Cassidy Turley, David Campbell, recently commented to the Boston Globe, “the Innovation District has offered the most obvious place for the city to grow…the Big Dig and the convention center and the Ted Williams Tunnel have really made it fertile ground for future development.”

More from Campbell is available in the full article, on the Boston Globe’s website.

0 Boston’s Startup Growth Expected to Continue in 2014

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston.com

Startups continue to be the focus for 2014. The Boston office market has seen rents continue to rise within the Class B market – space that is favored by newly-funded startups. Buildings that are poised to offer newly built out space within the redeveloped Downtown Crossing are Druker’s 373 Washington Street with some floors at 4,524 rentable square feet. This becomes a perfect size as groups graduate from the CIC or Space with a Soul and establish their own home.

Boston.com published its expectations for the new year:

Coming in 2014: Kayak co-founder Paul English opens a new incubator/nightclub/exhibition space on Summer Street called Blade. WeWork, a nationwide network of co-working spaces, is planning two Boston locations, both near South Station, on opposite sides of Fort Point Channel. TechStars Boston is moving from Cambridge to Boston, as I first reported in October, to space on Lincoln Street in the Leather District.

The full article is posted on Boston.com

0 Real Estate Advice for Funded Entrepreneurs

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Wil Catlin

My role is to assist companies navigating through their real estate requirements. Many times I hear, “we just closed on our recent round and we can’t commit to a 5 year term lease, we don’t know where we will be in 18 months.” This is so true, part of my process is matching the best landlords with a tenant’s project growth.

Do you know what makes the best landlord for you?

0 The Block on Congress Reinvented

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Herald

An era gone by, no longer will the Fidelity sign hang at 82 Devonshire Street. Related Beal acquired the 343,000 square foot portfolio and is in the process of reviewing plans to revitalize the retail storefronts. Boston developer Related Beal has acquired a five-building portfolio in the Financial District from Fidelity Investments with plans to upgrade its office and retail space.

Stephen Faber, executive vice president of Related Beal, commented on the opportunity in an article on Banker & Tradesman’s website:

“Rarely do you have the opportunity to reposition and reinvent an entire city block, especially one in the heart of downtown Boston,”

The full article is available, here.

0 Boston Office Market Transitions out of Recovery

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Wil Catlin

The Boston office market is in a state of recovery and rents are continuing upward. Within the Class B market, Boston is experiencing reduced vacancy as companies are continuing to seek out value options. Buildings in the Downtown Crossing Class B market have seen strong rent growth in 2013 and are now priced in the low $30’s PSF.

According to the BBJ “the overall amount of available space [in Boston], including sublease space, rose to 18.3 percent in Q4, up from 16.7 in Q4 of 2012. That change reflects nearly 300,000 square feet of negative absorption.”

Additional information is available on the Boston Business Journal website.

0 Boston Office Market Shifts to the Financial District

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Wil Catlin

The Downtown Boston Office Market continues to be strong as firms seek better value options than the high-priced Seaport or Back Bay submarkets. Pricing in the Class B market is still in the low-to-mid $30’s PSF downtown, while the Seaport has pushed into the low to mid $40’s.

B&T recently reported that “the popularity of the Seaport and Back Bay, where office building vacancy rates have been at historical lows in recent months, has been a boon to the city’s traditionally staid, button-down financial center, where younger and tech-related firms have opened up shop.”

Additional information is available on the Banker & Tradesman website.