0 177 Huntington Ave. Goes Up for Sale

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Office building for sale at 177 Huntington Ave in Boston

Photo Credit: The Real Reporter

177 Huntington moves to the sale block from Beacon Capital. The building anchors the First Church of Christ plaza and has become a destination for boutique Class A tenants.

From The Real Reporter:

Acquired under a 99-year ground lease almost four years ago, the 26-story, 206,625-sf building should yield “way over” $700 per sf by one account, possibly eclipsing $725 per sf by other sources.

Observers say they anticipate 177 Huntington Ave. will draw from a wide geography of heavy hitters…One factor likely mitigating the 177 Huntington Ave. mark in that area is the leasehold structure of ownership, a format certain funds are unable to pursue. Either way, it appears Beacon is in line for a hefty return on the asset.

0 Seaport District Construction Continues

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Construction continues to march forward in the Seaport District of Boston.

Construction planned in the Boston Seaport

Credit: The Real Reporter

According to The Real Reporter, “the continuance of cranes over Boston’s Innovation District grew, with the News of GE choosing it’s New HQ in the Seaport, while vacancy rates saw a slight rise over the previous quarter. According to the Latest Report from, Vacancy rose to 7.5 percent from 7.1 percent on 37,000 sf of negative absorption, while lease rates for existing Class A and B properties remained near previous quarter levels.”

Additional information is available on The Real Reporter’s website, here.

0 Tesla to Open at 888 Boylston Street

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Tesla will be moving in Boston to Boston Properties newest building, 888 Boylston Street. Tesla will among strong peers in the retail tech space with the following neighbors: Apple, Microsoft, Verizon & AT&T just in a 2 block corridor.

From the BBJ:

Although Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson wouldn’t disclose many details, she told me that the company (Nasdaq: TSLA) is relocating its store from within the Shops at Prudential Center to the more visible Boylston Street space by the end of the year.

0 Boston Offers Top Salaries for Software Developers

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Boston office buildings across the charles river

Credit: Bizjournals

What does Boston offer that no other city does? The largest paychecks. Boston outpaces NYC and San Francisco based on a recent report published by Indeed, quoting average salaries for software developers.

From the BBJ:

Boston software developers earn an average annual salary of $95,047, higher than any other tech hub in the country, according to the 2016 Tech Salary Report published last week by job search firm Indeed.

The position is the only tech role where a city in the northeastern U.S. places first, according to Indeed. Boston outpays New York City, where software developers earn an average salary of $88,581, and San Francisco, where they earn $81,502.

0 What 10M Driverless Cars by 2020 Means for Real Estate Development

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: TheRealReporter

Boston will change significantly with the introduction of driverless cars. Do you expect to own a Level 4 driverless car in the next 10 years?

According to The Real Reporter, “Level 4 cars park themselves, they don’t need nearly the space for error as humans do, and don’t need space for passengers to exit from the sides. As landlords’ see their tenants’ workers go increasingly autonomous, it may make sense to proactively create areas or structures to more efficiently offer car storage than the traditional 150 space per acre parking lot…The autonomous revolution may quickly lead to a car-share model. This could rapidly change industry parking ratios –freeing land, in some cases, for more development!”

You can read more on the real estate impact of driverless cars on The Real Reporter, here.

0 Millennium Partners Lands Winthrop Square Project

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Rendering of winthrop square office building

Credit: Bizjournals

Millennium Partners wins the prize for the impending Winthrop Square development. The proposed tower would stand 750-feet, adding office, residential and retail space in downtown Boston.

According to the Boston Business Journal, “the New York-based development firm proposed a 750-foot, $1.02 billion ‘hybrid high-rise’ tower, with 14 stories of office space and 36 levels of residential sitting atop a 65-foot high podium space known as The Great Hall. It would also include a 14,620-square-foot startup accelerator to be developed in partnership with the city.”

You can read the full article on the BBJ, here.

0 Boston’s 70 Franklin Street Sells for $42M

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Wil Catlin

financial district office building at 70 Franklin Street

Image Credit: cpexecutive

The Class B office market in Boston Financial District sees another trade: 70 Franklin Street.

From CPExecutive.com:

“70 Franklin’s timeless architecture combines with its flexible floor plates, open office layouts and modern building systems to create one of Boston’s premier Class B buildings. As a result, the asset boasts exceptional leasing momentum with tangible upside potential in Boston’s booming Downtown district,” said [Capital Markets Vice Chairman Edward] Maher.

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Financial District Office Space in Boston

0 Developers Move to Luxury to Offset Escalating Labor Cost

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Construction laborers work on an office building in Boston

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Due to the great recession we have fewer skilled labor working in the construction trade industry and as a result that cost has increased significantly. On a sampling of construction projects, the cost of labor could account for 40 – 60 percent of the overall project cost.

According to Bizjournals, “the result is a shortage in the supply of skilled labor in the building trades, a trend that’s enabled everyone from mechanical contractors to steel manufacturers to punch their ticket when it comes to selecting the most attractive jobs at the most competitive rates. That in turn is turbo-charging the cost of construction and, in turn, a preference among developers to favor big, luxury projects to better recoup their costs and lock in attractive returns.”

Additional information is available on the BBJ’s website.

0 Boston Properties Class A Office Rents Experience 76% Surge in Q2

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

Class A office rents have experienced a 76% increase in the 2nd quarter for some of Boston Properties local assets. Combine that with reduced tenant improvement dollars and little-to-no rent concession, and the net effective cost to occupy has increased even more.

According to an article in the BBJ, “Boston Properties raised net rents by a median average of 28 percent companywide for tenants with leases starting in the second quarter. But in Boston, Cambridge and the markets along Route 128, that net rent increase shot to 76 percent.”

From the Bizjournals:

“We continue to see the Boston suburban market as having the strongest relative demand growth across our portfolio,” [Boston Properties President Doug] Linde said on the earnings call. “We have more than 400,000 square feet of leases in negotiations from a series of life science, technology and even a few financial services organizations. Leasing velocity in the Waltham, Lexington submarket has accelerated during the last few months as a result of this demand, and much of it is organic expansion.”