Author Archives: Wil Catlin

0 Huntington Ave. Gets Second Five Guys Restaurant

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Five Guys restaurant chain, logoFamed burger chain, Five Guys, resonates with Northeastern students. A second ‘better-burger’ location is set to open near the Northeastern University campus, at 263-289 Huntington Ave.

The burger never seems to get old. Particularly for college students.

Did you know the following facts about Five Guys:

• There are over 250,000 possible ways to order a burger at Five Guys.
• They use only fresh ground beef.
• There are no freezers in Five Guys locations, just coolers. Nothing is ever frozen.
• The use only Peanut oil.
• Their menu is trans-fat free.
• 1986: The first Five Guys location opens in Arlington, VA.
• 1986 – 2001: Five Guys opens five locations around the DC metro-area and perfected their business of making burgers… and starts to build a cult-like following.
• 2002: Five Guys decides DC metro-area residents shouldn’t be the only ones to experience their burgers and start to franchise in Virginia and Maryland.
• 2003: Five Guys sells out of franchise territory within 18 months and starts to open the rest of the country for franchise rights.
• 2003 – Present: Five Guys expands to over 1,000 locations in 47 states and 6 Canadian provinces.”

0 Declining Vacancy Rate and Abundant Renovations Mark Active Financial District

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office building at 185 franklin st in boston financial district

185 Franklin Street
(Credit: Boston Business Journal)

99 High Street and 185 Franklin Street in Boston Financial District are among Boston’s newest interior renovations. Class A assets go through lobby upgrades about every 10 – 15 years to stay current and continue to attract and retain tenants. The Financial District has a current vacancy rate of about 14.7 percent and dropping due to strong demand and few options in surrounding markets.

Click through to view a list of available office space in the Boston Financial District

0 DivcoWest Purchases Four Buildings in Boston’s Seaport District

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Divco WestDivcoWest adds four buildings to its Boston assets with a combined size in excess of 3 million square feet.

According to a report in Banker & Tradesman, “the properties were acquired for DivcoWest Fund III, an $870 million fund raised last year. The properties were purchased from a fund controlled by New York-based Brickman Real Estate. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition brings DivcoWest’s total holdings in the Boston Area to more than 3 million square feet of commercial property assets.”

Click through to read the full editorial on Banker & Tradesman’s web site.

0 New York Investor Pay $27M for 19k SF Building in Back Bay

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Office Space on Newbury street

Photo Credit: Banker & Tradesman

New Yorker’s appetite for our sports teams may not be as strong as our Real Estate. Newbury Street is expected to see a trade in excess of $1,400 per square foot.

According to a report in Banker & Tradesman, the “investor is expected to pay about $27 million for a 19,041-square-foot retail building in Boston’s Back Bay.”

0 Law Firms Disperse Work to Remote Areas

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How are large law firms saving money in today’s global economy?  Well, moving back office jobs to less expensive domestic locations.

The Boston Business Journal reported the following information, this morning:

When it opens next spring, Bingham McCutchen’s shared-services center in Lexington, Ky., is expected to spark a flood of law firms to move back-office jobs to less expensive locations in an effort to slash costs and pass savings on to clients.

A handful of Boston law firms have already shifted so-called back-office jobs — such as finance, human resources and information technology positions — into one office. Those firms include WilmerHale and Nixon Peabody. The shifting of those jobs is part of the ongoing transformation of law firms, which have been trying to slash overhead and become more efficient after the Great Recession caused a drastic slowdown in legal services.

To read more on the transition to remote areas, real the Boston Business Journal’s Real Estate blog.

 

0 Developers Cautious of Downtown Crossing Projects

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Office vacancy in downtown crossing at the old Filenes building

Photo Credit: Mark Garfinkel, Boston Herald

Some developers of new mixed-use projects are cautious when it comes to the Boston office market market.

A Boston Herald report notes:

A New York developer who filed plans for a 28-story apartment and retail tower on Washington Street four years ago — in the teeth of the Great Recession — is not yet sold on the shopping district’s recovery.

“We wouldn’t consider doing anything until that hole across the street is filled,” said John Usdan, president of Midwood Management, referring to the partially demolished Filene’s block.

To read the Herald’s full coverage, click through to their piece, Developer not sold on downtown

0 Iron Mountain Moving to the Financial District

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Iron Mountain data storage company logoIron Mountain, an information and data storage company, recently signed an 11-year lease to situate its headquarters at One Federal Street. This is another indication that the Financial District remains a strong value play among neighboring submarkets — like the Seaport and Back Bay — with vacancy rates just below 14.9 percent.

Click through to view available office space in the Financial District

0 John Hancock Weather Beacon to Remain Lit

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weather beacon fitted with a red sox championship banner sits atop the John Hancock building in Boston's Copley Square

Photo Credit: Manulife Financial Corp. via Boston Business Journal

We all have seen the John Hancock Weather Beacon, but how many of us know what it means?

The Boston Business Journal cites a poem that can help you decode it:

Steady blue, clear view.
Flashing blue, clouds due.
Steady read, rain ahead.
Flashing red, snow instead. (or in summer, Red Sox game is cancelled)

 

0 Smaller Office Spaces Sought in Boston

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boston office building for lease on federal streetWhat is the profile of today’s workspace and how has it changed over the last 20 years?  Well, employees are doing more with less and gone are the days of the private offices.  Now people work in more collaborative environments.

Mike Hoban of Boston Business Journal reported “Boston’s downtown office market may be gaining significant momentum, but a second storyline emerging this year is one that will have longer lasting implications for landlords — the size of the deals are shrinking.”

More information is available on the BBJ’s “Tenants find small is beautiful.”

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