Credit: Courant
Boston continues to win large corporate tenants from our neighboring states.
In an article on the Courant, Alexion said “its headquarters would move from New Haven to Boston to support plans for growth…[noting] Boston will provide access to a ‘larger biopharmaceutical talent pool and a variety of life-sciences partners to further support future growth initiatives.’”
The full article is available on the Courant.
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Your office rents in Boston are directly impacted by the distance to the nearest MBTA stop. Simply put, expect to pay more the closer you are.
Credit: Banker&Tradesman
Banker and Tradesman notes, “despite the departure of several large office tenants for the Financial District and Seaport, Back Bay still has Boston’s highest-priced office space. Buildings within a 5-minute walk of Hynes Convention Center station on the Green Line average $66.69 per square foot, partly reflecting the completion of Boston Properties’ 888 Boylston tower anchored by Natixis Global Asset Management.
You can read additional analysis on the impact of the MBTA on Boston office prices on B&T.
Credit: NYTimes
Should it be built or not? Will it cast a deep shadow? Is too much being made of this issue or are not enough people rallying behind the drive to maintain a view of the sky?
From the New York Times:
Boston is riding the crest of what city officials say is the biggest building boom in its history, with cranes lifting glassy towers into place and raising the city’s unassuming profile. The surge of construction is also plunging some of its most cherished sites into deepening shadow, testing state laws that have long balanced economic development with protection of sunlight and open space.
The concern is not merely about preserving a glimpse of sky in the increasingly vertical downtown or about the risks of darkness to plants, historic buildings and even humans. It is also about whether the city is going down a road of no return by trading away, one piece at a time, its intangible assets, like sunlight on its signature parks and public access to its gleaming waterfront.
Credit: Business Insider
The suburban office parks as we know it might become a thing of the past like the VCR and home answering machine.
From BusinessInsider:
As more corporations flock to cities, they are vacating these office parks, many of which were built in the 1980s…But some of these parks are not staying empty. An increasing number of developers are converting them into housing, according to a recent Washington Post report.
A 2016 report by NGKF looked at office parks in five suburbs, and found that between 14% and 22% were “in some stage of obsolescence” (i.e. high vacancy rates, too much or not enough parking, the space needs substantial renovations). That suggests that up to 1 billion square feet of office space — or 7.5% of the country’s entire office inventory — is becoming obsolete for the people who work there.
We all agree, finding garage parking in Boston can be a challenge. What about parking under the Charles River or under the Fort Point Channel?
Image Credit: Curbed
In a recent article the Boston Globe notes, “in a city like Boston, where the most parking-starved areas are surrounded by water, the payoff could be significant: helping to reduce the pollution and traffic caused by drivers circling the block hunting for spot, making parking more affordable, and freeing up more street-level space for other uses.”
The Globe article also includes the following comment of the feasibility of such an undertaking:
“It’s definitely very possible,” said Arthur G. Stadig, vice president of Walker Parking Consultants, who said a client of his Boston firm — whom he declined to identify — recently toyed with the idea of extending part of a planned parking garage into the harbor…It’s just a matter of is there that right combination of a development that’s close to the water, needs the parking, and is feasible from all different aspects,” including cost and securing regulatory approvals.”
You can read the full article on the Globe’s website.
Credit: Boston Globe
Can track 61 save the Seaport from its own success? To be clear, it could help and we could use it.
From the Boston Globe:
Originally a freight line that was part of the industrial rail yards along the South Boston Waterfront, Track 61 has been unused for many years while around it a new neighborhood of glass-walled offices, luxury condos, and hip restaurants has sprung up.
The roughly 1.5-mile spur [that] cuts across the Seaport District from the southwestern edge of South Boston…is coming back to life [to test] new Red Line subway cars that are being built for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Springfield.
The work will include an electrified third rail along Track 61 to power the Red Line cars, a new shed, and other improvements.