Author Archives: Wil Catlin

0 Legal Sea Foods Opening in Millennium Place

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Rendering of Legal Sea Foods restaurant in downtown crossing

Photo Credit: Legal Sea Foods (via Boston Business Journal)

If they build it, we will come. Well, yes, with the influx of new office tenants and residential buildings some of those naysayers of the past have changed their tune. Legal Sea Foods being one of them. Another recent edition to Downtown Crossing is Michael Inwald’s Cheeseboy at 280 Washington Street.

According to the BBJ, “Legal Sea Foods has signed a deal with Millennium Partners for Legal Crossing, a 5,600-square-foot restaurant at the $220 million Millennium Place condominium tower nearing completion at the edge of Chinatown. The 150-seat eatery is expected to open this fall.”

The full Boston Business Journal article is available on the BBJ’s website.

0 Boston Office Vacancies Decreasing in Majority of Markets

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Office building in Government Center in BostonTenants that are in the market flock to value; over the last four quarters that value play has been the Financial District.  As those vacancies have been eroded, rents have pushed upward.  What will this mean tomorrow and beyond?  Those tenants that signed leases three plus years ago in the now tight and expensive Seaport Market will seek value options elsewhere if they feel that low $40’s rents for Class B is too much to burden in the Seaport.  

Markets that have benefited and that will continue to do so are Mid Town and North Station.

A post on the Boston Business Journal notes that Back Bay is lagging behind its neighboring submarkets:

“‘the only market where there has been an increase in vacancies is in the Back Bay…there continues to be uncertainly in the city’s most expensive office market with State Street Corp. downsizing considerably, [Debra Gould, a broker at Cushman & Wakefield] said. “They also have 400,000 square feet in Copley and it’s still not clear what will happen to that space … and obviously they are vacating the low-rise portion of the John Hancock Tower and there are price concerns … activity in the Back Bay will be slow.'”

You can read the full BBJ article, here.

Related Listings
Available Office Space in Boston Submarkets

0 Boston Startups Filling Downtown Crossing Office Space

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Office building at 99 Summer St. in BostonWhat does the Red, Green and Orange Line have in common?  The benefit of transporting the influx of employees to the newly leased up space in Downtown crossing to all the startups priced out of the Seaport and Cambridge.

W. Marc Bernsau of the Boston Business Journal reports, “the available office space in Downtown Crossing plunged by nearly 40 percent in two years as a wave of startups priced out of Kendall Square and the Seaport arrived in search of real estate bargains.”

Additional details on the startups moving into downtown crossing and its associated office space are available on the Boston Business Journal’s website.

Related Listings
Available Office Space in Downtown Crossing

0 Government Center Development Would Reshape Skyline

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Court Street office space in government center Will the architecture in the 1960’s era of Government Center move to the wrecking ball?  Yes, it seems that the Government Center Garage will be replaced with a new mixed use development.

According to Banker and Tradesman, “the Government Center proposal includes six buildings varying in height from 600 to 60 feet. Once the proposed project is complete, the garage, sitting on approximately 4.8 acres, would be transformed into a mix of 771 apartments and condos, 1.3 million square feet of office space, 82,500 square feet of retail and restaurant space and 204 hotel rooms.”

Office rents are up and supply is down; residential housing is commanding strong numbers on both the sale and lease fronts. Now is the time.

You can view the full B&T article, here

Related Commercial Listings
Government Center Office Space

0 Innovation District Attracts Another Corporate Giant

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Boston waterfront in the Innovation district at night

Photo Credit: InnovationDistrict.org

Rents continue to rise, but with that comes landlords willing to build new buildings.  Office rents have continued up quarter over quarter within the Seaport and Innovation District. However, according to an article in The Boston Globe, “accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is negotiating to occupy a 16-story building that would be built along Seaport Boulevard.”

The complete article is available to all readers on The Boston Globe website: PWHC to Lease Office Space in Innovation District

Related Commercial Real Estate Stats
Boston Office Space Pricing and Market Rates

0 East Cambridge Office Market One of Hottest in the Country

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The office market in East Cambridge is one of the hottest in the country. Rental rates have increase by 15 – 20 percent in the last twelve months alone and don’t show any sign of letting up.

East Cambridge office vacancy and market stats graph

Photo Credit: SquarefeetJournalDotCom

At the CBA Event; Cambridge Looking Behind the Deals a question was asked, “Why don’t tenants look in alternate submarkets?”  The answer, “Because that’s where Harvard and MIT are.”  Truth be told, groups like Twitter, Microsoft and Google want to be there and can afford to be.  Those that get squeezed out are the real startups.

 

0 Three Seaport District Properties Acquired by Synergy

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Office building at 327-337 Summer Street in Boston's Seaport district

Photo Credit: Boston Business Journal

The Class B market continues to trade with the Seaport District to have new buyers, including Synergy.

According to the BBJ, Synergy’s recent acquisitions include, “319 A Street, a 48,000-square-foot office building, 327-337 Summer St., a 106,000-square-foot office building, and the 657-space Necco Street Garage.”

Full coverage of Synergy’s acquisitions is available on the Boston Business Journal

0 Staples to Open Flagship Store in Boston Financial District

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Staples location at One Washington Mall in Boston

Photo Credit: Boston Business Journal

Staples will have a new “Easy Button” location in the Financial District!  One Washington Mall will be the location for a new 17,500 square foot store.

The Boston Business Journal reports, “the Framingham-based office supply company has signed a lease for 17,500 square feet at One Washington Mall in the former Newbury Comics space, as well as a portion of the second floor.”

The full BBJ article can be found here: Stapes to Open New Flagship Location

Related Commercial Property Listings
Financial District Office Space

0 45 Milk Street Goes Under Agreement

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Office Building at 45 Milk st. in Boston financial district

Photo Credit: Banker & Tradesman

The Class B Office market continues to see trades within the Financial District.  At $302 per square foot this continue to push the market values up.

“Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, formerly RREEF Real Estate, has agreed to buy the nine-story, 70,000-square-foot office building at 45 Milk St. for about $21.2 million, or more than $300 per square-foot, industry executives told Banker & Tradesman. Anglo Irish paid nearly $34 million for the asset in 2007, just before the financial markets came crashing down,” stated a report on Banker & Tradesman’s website.

The full article is available at B&T online

 

0 Poll: Can Bikes & Cars Share Boston’s Roads?

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Yes they can! The city already has a tremendous amount of bikes already on the roadways, but drivers and bikes riders need to obey the same set of laws. Not only do we have cars running reds lights, but we have cyclists doing the same thing. So, enforcing the laws we have in place would help to create safer roadways cars and bikes along more with bike lanes.

A BBJ poll showed mixed results: Can bikes and cars share the roads in Boston?

Yes. It’s better for traffic and the environment. 18%

No. The roads are too narrow in the city. 38%

Perhaps. But drivers and bicyclists must be more aware. 44%

Follow the link to vote on the Boston Business Journal poll.