0 Boston’s Office Building Boom is Centralized

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Wil Catlin

200 Clarendon Back Bay Last week I took a tour of the 48th floor at 200 Clarendon Street with Wayland Club Scouts, hosted by Patrick Mulvihill of Boston Properties, and “wow” was the comment echoed by all the scout’s and their parents. Now, the floor was completely shelled out with nothing but a cement floor, deck above and exterior windows. It was a great experience and the perfect perch to see how our city is growing vertically.

The growth, however, is consolidated in a few central areas – all of which were perfectly visible from the 48th floor.

From Curbed:

“Tim Logan broke down recent numbers from the Boston Redevelopment Authority that show 83 major projects going up in 19 of the city’s 25 neighborhoods for a total cost construction-wise of around $7 billion. “Yet they’re concentrated in a relative handful of places. About $4 billion worth of the construction — it includes everything from housing to hotels to new storefronts — is taking place in just three neighborhoods: the Seaport, downtown, and the Back Bay. Count the number of projects, and nearly a fourth are in two neighborhoods: South Boston and the Fenway.”

0 Boston Office Market Closes 10th Consecutive Quarter of Positive Absorption

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: TransWestern.net

The Boston Office market continues ahead with its 10th positive quarter of absorption.

From TWurls.com:

Greater Boston’s office market closed its 10th straight quarter of positive growth, albeit at a much slower pace than the 15-year record high of 2 million square feet absorbed during second-quarter, according to “officeSTATus — Q3 2015,” a new research report from Transwestern | RBJ. Despite tenants absorbing only 36,000 square feet of office space during third-quarter 2015, the market has seen a robust 3.6 million square feet of positive absorption during the past 12 months Ë•’ a more accurate indicator of market strength.

“We were unlikely to maintain the pace that was set during the second quarter, which had the highest absorption rate since the dot-com boom in 2000,” said Northeast Research Director Chase Bourdelaise. “An important contributor to the robust 12-month absorption growth is the continued positive gains to the region’s office-using employment, which has increased 12.0 percent since 2009.”

0 HYM Releases New Plans for Government Center Project

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Wil Catlin

The plans for Government Center have been updated by HYM. The proposed plan consists of the following:

Credit: Bizjournals.com

Two Apartment Tower:
- 486 units at 480 feet in height
- 291 Units at 299 feet in height
Two Office Towers
- 1 million square feet at 528 feet in height
- 163,800 square feet at 157 feet in height
Parking of 1,159 spaces
Condo/Hotel Tower at 152 feet in height
Retail build to suit that will anchor the Canal side of the site

From the BBJ:

The first phase, for which HYM submitted documentation on Monday, is a 45-story, 486-unit residential tower located along New Sudbury Street and a 43-story, 1 million-square-foot office tower located at the corner of New Chardon and Congress streets…HYM’s original plans had the office tower at 600 feet, and a hotel parcel at 275 feet, but those plans were revised in August 2013 to a 528-foot office tower and a 157-foot hotel. The Boston Redevelopment Authority approved the project in November 2013.

HYM’s project aims to connect Boston’s Bulfinch Triangle, Government Center, the West End, the North End and Beacon Hill with a near five-acre development area. It’s slated to be among the largest construction projects in the city — which itself has seen a fair number of cranes in the past few years — and at full buildout will include six new buildings with 812 residential units, 1.1 million square feet of office space, 85,000 square feet of retail space and a 196-room hotel.

0 North Station Transportation Plan gets $400k

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: B&T

The integration of transportation, services and infrastructure is paramount to a city’s success. Boston’s North Station is now benefiting by receiving $400K towards a transportation plan that will look at short and long term solutions.

Banker&Tradesman reports, “the nine-month project will encompass the West End, Bulfinch Triangle and Government Center, where nearly 8 million square feet of commercial and residential projects are expected to be completed in the next few years…The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) and the city’s transportation department are overseeing the project designed to analyze the existing network and future needs…The $400,000 is expected to cover the entire cost of the project, BRA spokesman Nicholas Martin said.”

More information is available on B&T, here.

0 Putnam nearing HQ move in Boston’s Financial District

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

Putnam appears to be in the final throws of swapping one side of Post Office Square for another and leaving their address of 1 P.O. Square that they have had since 1981. Why move and why move now?

A number of reason play into this from how office space is used to overall economics.

According to the BBJ, “Putnam is close to signing a lease for 275,000 square feet of space at 100 Federal St. and vacating its offices a short walk away in PO Square…at One PO Square, Putnam occupies multiple floors and has lobby-level signage…The fund manager has more than 800 employees at the location, a workforce that includes its primary investment and trading operations as well as its senior executive team.”

You can read additional details on Putnam’s move on the Boston Business Journal.

0 Map Indicates Walking Time to the Nearest MBTA Station

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Wil Catlin

The largest concentration of office space north of New York City is the Boston Financial District. A frequently asked question is, “what the nearest T line and how far is the walk?” Thanks to Aaron Doucett, we now have an answer.

Credit: Doucettmaps

From Boston.com:

[Doucett’s] current creation is a map that MBTA riders can use to visualize the walking distance between their home or office and the nearest MBTA station.

“I wanted to create something that anyone living in Boston or the surrounding cities would find interesting and useful,” Doucett said. “I think this map would also be very helpful for someone looking to move to the area, who is searching for apartments or jobs and wants to estimate their commute.”

Follow this link to view the MBTA walking map.

0 Ron Druker Explains the Business of Condos

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Rendering of Millennium Tower in Downtown Crossing

Ron Druker of The Druker Company wonders, is it luck or skill with successful real estate projects?

From Bisnow:

Condos are a tricky business, especially compared to the reliable apartment…there’s a limited window for selling the units, Ron tells us. The developer who misses it can have trouble. Even when the project goes according to plan, Ron says, the risk is high and the reward may not be great. Sales can be strong, but the revenue is booked as ordinary income, which means that taxes can take a big bite. He says he was lucky twice: with The Heritage on the Garden in Back Bay and Atelier 505 in the South End. “I’m not sure I would be so again and choose not to tempt fate.” He’s also not about to build a big office/mixed-use project on spec.

You can read the full article on Bisnow’s website, here.

0 Tesla Opens first Boston Store, Mulls Area Expansion

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

Boylston Street in Boston’s Back Bay continues to one of the nation’s top technology roads for retailers. Tesla @800 Boylston will open shorty and will accompany other tech retailers like:

Apple @ 815 Boylston
Verizon @ 699 Boylston
AT&T @ 745 Boylston
Microsoft @ 800 Boylston

Some history of Boylston Street from Wikipedia:

Boylston Street is the name of a major east-west thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston street was known as Frog Lane in the early 18th century and was later known as Common Street. It was later again renamed for Ward Nicholas Boylston (1747–1828),[1][2][3][4] a man of wealth and refinement, an officer of the Crown, and philanthropist. Boylston, who was a descendent of Zabdiel Boylston,[5] was born in Boston and spent much of his life in it. The Boylston Market was named after him as was the town of Boylston, Massachusetts.[3]

According to the BBJ, “A second new store will open in the Derby Street Shoppes in Hingham in December…Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson said the company also has an interest in opening a store in Chestnut Hill, but has no plans right now.”

You can read more on Tesla’s planned Boston expansion on the Boston Business Journal.

0 Check out Analytics Co InsightSquared’s new Boston HQ

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Have a peak at what groups are doing with their new office space.

The BBJ posted a photo gallery of InsightSquared’s new Boston HQ, and notes the following:

The new headquarters, which InsightSquared cemented with an office-warming party last week, is a far cry from where they started in 2010. Back then, they were working out of a tiny space at Bessemer Venture Partners.

“It feels great to be here,” said CEO Fred Shilmover at the company’s office-warming party last week. “It feels like our first grownup office.”

InsightSquared is backed by $27 million in venture funding and employs 170, up from less than half that amount in 2014.

0 Back Bay Office Tower Approved by BRA

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

The BRA has given the green light for 625,000 square foot towner at 380 Stuart Street.

Banker&Tradesman reports, “the Boston Development Authority (BRA) board of directors approved four development projects totaling approximately $374.7 million at a recent meeting…John Hancock received approval to construct a new $350 million, 26-story office tower in Back Bay that will include a public lobby with restaurant and retail space, a roof deck and four levels of underground parking. The 625,000-square-foot tower on 380 Stuart St. will be home to a new signature office building for the company. The $350 million dollar project is expected to create 454 construction jobs.”

You can read more about the Back Bay development projects on B&T’s website, here.