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.

0 James Hook site at Fort Point Channel: Rumored Development Plans

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

The skyline along Atlantic Avenue overlooking the Seaport/Innovation district will have some new company in 2014.

The Boston Business Journal is reporting potential development on the former James Hook & Co.’s waterfront building:

the Hooks are proposing a building of undetermined size on the site at 436-440 Atlantic Ave. to house a “rustic” lobster restaurant on the ground floor. It is unclear whether the building would contain offices or apartments.

For additional information, jump over to the BBJ.

Alternatively, you can view Seaport office space for lease by following the link.

0 BRA: Big Groundbreakings in Boston in 2013

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Wil Catlin

rendering of Millennium Tower in Boston Seaport neighborhood

Credit: Boston Business Journal

2013 was a big year for construction starts in the city of Boston. Will 2014 be the same as projected? Will construction commence above the Turnpike?

The Boston Business Journal posted a robust review of the top development projects in Boston over the course of the previous year. Among its findings:

One of the biggest events of the year saw construction crews returning to the former Filene’s site in Downtown Crossing…But Filene’s was not the only major development to see construction crews: Across town in Brighton, New Balance began work to convert a previously shuttered manufacturing plant into a new facility; in Westwood, a new team took over the stalled Westwood Station project and now promise to deliver on 2 million feet of mixed-use development along Route 128; in Chinatown, a section of the neighborhood that decades ago was taken to build the Southeast Expressway is now home to construction of a 21-story tower that will provide much needed affordable housing; and in the Seaport District, Skanska got underway with the first office for Seaport Square.

The complete article is available on the BBJ website, here.

0 Steinert Hall still lingering below Boylston

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: The Boston Globe

What sits below our city streets? Well, along piano row sits Steinert Hall, an “acoustic marvel” as one has noted. The value of Boston real estate continues upwards, and perhaps — at some point — treasure like Steinert Hall will reap the benefits of restoration and welcome guests again.

The Boston Globe describes Steinert Hall as the following:

a state-of-the-art theater when it was constructed a century ago deep beneath Boylston Street, once attracted some of the world’s finest classical musicians. Long shuttered, it remains largely out of public sight, a ghost figure on the cultural landscape.

The Globe articles includes much more detail on the theater, accompanied by some stunning images. The article is available on the BostonGlobe.com.

0 Downtown Crossing: Strong Value for Class B Office Space in Boston

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Where are the value options for a Class B tenant in Boston? Current market data shows that Downtown Crossing has it. Seaport rents have pushed into the low to mid $40’s PSF with limited supply. Options within downtown crossing can still be found with pricing in the mid to upper $20’s depend on building amenities and tenant improvement needs.

Check out our office space in Downtown Crossing listings to determine if the pricing and available options are right for your business needs.

0 51 Sleeper Street in the Seaport District Sells for $60.2 million

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

The rents in the Seaport/Innovation District continue to climb. Recently the Class B renewals have pushed to $45 PSF, with that in mind we have a record trade of $60.2 million or $400 PSF.

From the BBJ:

TIAA-CREF has acquired 51 Sleeper St. in Boston’s Seaport for $60.2 million, setting a record sale price for the city’s burgeoning Innovation District of roughly $400 per square foot.

The full article is available on the Boston Business Journal.

0 Boutique Buildings Growing in Boston

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Not all new construction project are towers. Some are boutique buildings designed to blend into their surroundings and fit on a much smaller footprint.

A boutique building recently highlighted on the Boston Herald’s website is Zero Farnsworth. The Herald notes, “in a smaller-scale building you can pay much more attention to the quality of the design and the details,” said Damian Szary, a principal at Boston-based Redgate Real Estate Advisors, whose Gate Residential unit is developing a nine-story condo complex along Congress and Farnsworth streets in the booming Seaport District. With its floor-to-ceiling glass windows all around, Zero Farnsworth will be strikingly contemporary in an area of brick warehouses.”

The full Herald article is available on BostonHerald.com.

0 Builders Consider Wind Power

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker & Tradesman

As we all try harder to recycle and become a greener society, one group has looked up. Way up. Is it possible and feasible to have wind farms atop office towers? At a cost, yes; but is there an adequate return on investment?

Banker & Tradesman recently reported on a Cambridge-based startup that is exploring the use of wind power on an office tower:

One such cleantech startup based in Cambridge has designed its own version of a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) that stands from 26 to 40 feet tall, with a 20-foot diameter, a far cry from the turbines in, say, Falmouth, where the towers rise more than 260 feet into the air and can be seen for miles around…But instead of the turbines themselves being towers, Eastern Wind Power’s founders want to put their turbines on top of existing and new urban office towers.

The full article on sustainable office towers is available on B&T.

0 Is Boston the New Innovation Hub?

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Bostinno.Streetwise.co

Is downtown Boston the new innovation district? Well, yes it is. Downtown Boston holds some of the components critical to an emerging companies success. First is access; the famed Red Line is what is most widely discussed. It provides that vital link from Harvard and MIT to the North while offering a stop at South Station, which is the largest commuter hub.

From our internal data, the Downtown Crossing Market offers the last great value option for tenants. This is being driven up by the lack of opportunities in the Seaport, Kendall and Back Bay.

According to bostinno.streetwise.co, “now that the rents are creeping upwards both around Kendall and Harvard Square and the Innovation District, entrepreneurs – and a few of the organizations that cater to them – seem to be settling in Downtown Boston.”

To read more about this trend, follow the link to Bostinno.