0 Ron Druker Explains the Business of Condos

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Rendering of Millennium Tower in Downtown Crossing

Ron Druker of The Druker Company wonders, is it luck or skill with successful real estate projects?

From Bisnow:

Condos are a tricky business, especially compared to the reliable apartment…there’s a limited window for selling the units, Ron tells us. The developer who misses it can have trouble. Even when the project goes according to plan, Ron says, the risk is high and the reward may not be great. Sales can be strong, but the revenue is booked as ordinary income, which means that taxes can take a big bite. He says he was lucky twice: with The Heritage on the Garden in Back Bay and Atelier 505 in the South End. “I’m not sure I would be so again and choose not to tempt fate.” He’s also not about to build a big office/mixed-use project on spec.

You can read the full article on Bisnow’s website, here.

0 Tesla Opens first Boston Store, Mulls Area Expansion

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

Boylston Street in Boston’s Back Bay continues to one of the nation’s top technology roads for retailers. Tesla @800 Boylston will open shorty and will accompany other tech retailers like:

Apple @ 815 Boylston
Verizon @ 699 Boylston
AT&T @ 745 Boylston
Microsoft @ 800 Boylston

Some history of Boylston Street from Wikipedia:

Boylston Street is the name of a major east-west thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston street was known as Frog Lane in the early 18th century and was later known as Common Street. It was later again renamed for Ward Nicholas Boylston (1747–1828),[1][2][3][4] a man of wealth and refinement, an officer of the Crown, and philanthropist. Boylston, who was a descendent of Zabdiel Boylston,[5] was born in Boston and spent much of his life in it. The Boylston Market was named after him as was the town of Boylston, Massachusetts.[3]

According to the BBJ, “A second new store will open in the Derby Street Shoppes in Hingham in December…Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson said the company also has an interest in opening a store in Chestnut Hill, but has no plans right now.”

You can read more on Tesla’s planned Boston expansion on the Boston Business Journal.

0 Check out Analytics Co InsightSquared’s new Boston HQ

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Have a peak at what groups are doing with their new office space.

The BBJ posted a photo gallery of InsightSquared’s new Boston HQ, and notes the following:

The new headquarters, which InsightSquared cemented with an office-warming party last week, is a far cry from where they started in 2010. Back then, they were working out of a tiny space at Bessemer Venture Partners.

“It feels great to be here,” said CEO Fred Shilmover at the company’s office-warming party last week. “It feels like our first grownup office.”

InsightSquared is backed by $27 million in venture funding and employs 170, up from less than half that amount in 2014.

0 Back Bay Office Tower Approved by BRA

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

The BRA has given the green light for 625,000 square foot towner at 380 Stuart Street.

Banker&Tradesman reports, “the Boston Development Authority (BRA) board of directors approved four development projects totaling approximately $374.7 million at a recent meeting…John Hancock received approval to construct a new $350 million, 26-story office tower in Back Bay that will include a public lobby with restaurant and retail space, a roof deck and four levels of underground parking. The 625,000-square-foot tower on 380 Stuart St. will be home to a new signature office building for the company. The $350 million dollar project is expected to create 454 construction jobs.”

You can read more about the Back Bay development projects on B&T’s website, here.

0 Map out the Inside of your Office Buildings

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Bisnow

Maps are no longer just about city streets and highways, they are for indoors as well. Look to Google and Apple to see what’s on the inside of a building near you.

From Bisnow:

Google uses a rucksack contraption to create indoor maps of large venues like the British Museum in London. Apple is also getting in on the action with its “Indoor Survey App,” which allows users to map interiors by “dropping points,” CityMetric reports. And while Google and Apple offer nice 2D maps, Harvard University and Redlands, CA-based SmarterBetterCities are taking it to the next level. They’re working together to create 3D interior maps of Harvard’s campus, using ESRI’s arcGIS platform.

0 Envoy Hotel Offers Comfortable Getaway within Boston’s Seaport

Posted on November 15, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Herald

How far is far enough to “get away?” Well, according to Moira McCarthy the Seaport Envoy Hotel fits the bill. Check it out next time you are considering a Boston destination.

From the Boston Herald:

Tucked into the edge of Boston Harbor (it gazes down upon the iconic Barking Crab restaurant), the hotel offers a new and distinctive feel for a Boston stay, but with enough classic Boston and seaside to remind us what an amazing city we live in. There’s even a rooftop bar…Warm and almost beachy, and touched with the hotel’s signature yellow and lots of reclaimed wood, the lobby featured classic games such as Connect Four, deep and comfortable conversation-pit-style couches, artistic touches like a chandelier made from reclaimed materials, and an open feel.

You can read a first-person account’s of their stay in the Boston Herald.

0 Boston Garden Gets Design Approval

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Wil Catlin

BP is on the march in North Station area of Boston with approvals Boston Civic Design Commission.

Credit: Boston Business Journal

From Bizjournals’s Boston vertical:

When fully built out, Boston Garden will be a 1.87 million-square-foot mixed-use development with a residential tower and an office tower sitting atop a multi-level podium connecting North Station and TD Garden to Causeway Street…The project’s first phase is a $285 million steel-and-glass podium named “Champions Row.” Beyond creating a transportation hub for North Station commuters as well as crowds at TD Garden, the “Champions Row” podium is slated to include a Star Market grocery store; a 20,000-square-foot sports bar that can hold up to 500 patrons; a 50,000-square-foot entertainment venue that could seat up to 1,000 people; a movie theater; a bowling alley; and additional retail space.

0 Cambridge Office Rents Continue to Grow

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

Office rents continue to climb in East Cambridge in both Lab and Office with some of $80 per square foot.

A BBJ article reports, “Escalating rents in Cambridge’s Kendall Square are pushing away some young life science and biotech companies, but there’s still incredibly strong demand for Class A office and lab space in the neighborhood, according to Alexandria Real Estate Equities.”

You can read the full article on the Boston Business Journal’s website.

0 Boston Rolls Out Virtual Suggestion Box for Input

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Wil Catlin

The city of Boston wants to hear from you about your vision; the city has contracted with Textizen to enable the virtual suggestion box to get your input.

According to Banker&Tradesman, the initiative encourages “residents to respond to survey questions on improving quality of life and what issues they think the city should focus on in the new master plan.”

0 Boston Global Investors Moves Offices to Seaport

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Wil Catlin

office building at 1 Post office square in Boston

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Putting their money where their mouth is, Boston Global Investors is moving to the Seaport. They will be moving to Block H along Seaport Boulevard once construction is complete on their 6,00 square foot parcel.

From the BBJ:

Boston Global Investors will move its headquarters from its current office at 1 Post Office Square in Boston’s Financial District to the Seaport…The firm last week spent $2.21 million to buy a 6,000-square-foot parcel at Seaport Square’s Block H, located along Seaport Boulevard…a four-story office is under construction at the site, and Hynes said Boston Global Investors will relocate there when construction is finished.

With the final parcels trading hands last week, Seaport Square’s 23 acres have officially sold for $665.2 million since 2011. The parcels were originally acquired in 2006, in a deal spearheaded by Hynes with financing from Morgan Stanley, for $203.75 million.