0 Seaport’s Northern Ave. Bridge in it’s last Months

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Magazine

The Northern Ave. Bridge is scheduled to come down in March. The bridge site is now the gateway to the Seaport, which continues to grow with the recent announcement of GE’s election to move its HQ to the thriving Boston submarket.

From Boston Magazine:

The rusty, sad structure that links downtown to the Seaport is set to be removed in March. But the Northern Ave Bridge wasn’t always such a rickety construction; it became a grand throughway across the Fort Point Channel after it was built in 1908. It’s also one of the remaining few swing bridges in Boston, meaning that it pivots when traffic in the water below needs to pass by.

The steel bridge was closed to vehicles in 1997—and recently to pedestrians in December 2014—after the Coast Guard asserted it was hazardous to cross and in danger of collapsing. The bridge’s demolition seems unfortunate, since the aged platform boasts a distinctive history.

0 Fenway Getting “Big Air Jump” in Feb

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credot: Bisnow

Fenway Park is far more than just home to the Red Sox. It has evolved to a park that hosts many event from concerts to hockey, and now, a Big Air Jump.

According to Bisnow, “Fenway Park’s Big Air Jump is being assembled (all 26,000 pieces) for its big day on Feb. 11 and 12. And when the estimated 25,000 people stream in, the jump will be even taller than the originally announced figure, according to BostInno. The structure reaches 150 feet high and 338 feet long.”

You can read more about Fenway’s Big Air Jump on Bisnow.

0 Synergy Investments Sells Class B Portfolio

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Value in the Class B market continues to be achieved with Synergy’s sale of a 4 building portfolio.

184 High Street – $19.5M
100 N. Washington Street – $18M
211 Congress Street – $31M
115 Broad Street – $21.5M

According to Bizjournals.com, the four-property portfolio spans a combined 237,434 square feet and was acquired for an average of $379 per square foot, up by $143 from the $236 per square foot paid by Synergy and GreenOak.”

The BBJ continued, noting “the deal is the latest in a wave of local Class B transactions. For example, Webster-based property insurer Mapfre Insurance bought One Winthrop Square in October for $55 million with plans to move some executive offices there. Boston-based commercial real estate firm Winhall Cos. bought Two Liberty Square in September for $28.25 million, up more than $10 million from the $18 million the property had traded for in January 2013. And New York-based DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners in October accquired 18 Tremont St. for $77.5 million.”
You can read the full article on the BBJ’s website, here.

0 Boston’s MBTA: Least Reliable Transit System in the U.S.

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Boston commuters wait for the MBTA train

Credit: BBJ

Boston takes another 1st position in the nation, this is not a positive, however, this is The T!

Our beloved MBTA is dead last with the most breakdowns in the U.S. We are an educated Commonwealth, but we really need to get smart about how we expect our workforce to commute without operational issues beyond their control.

According to a recent article on the Boston Business Journal, “the MBTA recorded 219 major mechanical failures on its commuter rail lines in 2014 — four times the national average. (Notably, the data did not include breakdowns last year during the record-setting snowfall in January and February)…Nationally, 24 commuter railroads had an average 52 major failures in 2014.”

0 Boston Office Market Shows Strength in 2015

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Real Estate Times

The region’s office market continued its upward push with rents climbing while vacancy continues to decline.

A Boston Real Estate Times article includes the following highlights to express the market direction:

Market-wide vacancy averaged 12.2 percent for 2015, the lowest annual average since 2002. Vacancy for the quarter remained steady from third quarter at 12.1 percent.
Class A asking lease rates topped $42 per square foot for the first time since 2002, reaching $42.06 in fourth quarter, 3.9 percent higher than first-quarter 2015.
Boston’s Central Business District had 502,000 square feet of absorption in fourth quarter and totaled 1.58 million square feet for the year, the highest annual total since 2006.
Vacancy in Boston’s Seaport District dropped to 8.3 percent, its lowest level since 2000, when inventory was 6 million square feet smaller than today.
Cambridge closed the quarter at a remarkable 2.7 percent vacancy, its lowest mark on record.
There was 314,000 square feet of positive absorption in the Route 128 submarkets and 328,000 square feet in the Interstate 495 submarkets.

0 Wayfair’s Chic Boston Office Space Reflects its Core Products

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston.com

Wayfair has come to the market with creative radio and TV ads and changed the traditional office environment from cubes and offices into collaborative environment for its ever expanding workforce.

From Boston.com:

With names like “Nordic,” “Safari,” “Whimsy,” and “Cat Tree,” each room at Wayfair’s headquarters at 4 Copley Place is themed to remind employees of a motif or product the rapidly expanding company sells. While “Safari” might feature zebra-print rugs and exotic throw pillows, employees working in “Cat Tree” get to enjoy a slightly quirkier office vibe with avocado-colored wallpaper covered in playful cats.

“We have all these smaller spaces set up to look like actual living rooms using the furniture we actually sell,” said Jess Merrell, event marketer for Wayfair. “That way everything feels more comfortable to get things done. We don’t have to go to Starbucks to have a private conversation.”

0 BBJ Posts Interactive Map of Boston’s Largest Construction Projects

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Boston is rising! We are witnessing one of the city’s largest building booms and the attached map, courtesy of the Boston Business Journal, lays out all of the active sites.

Credit: BBJ