0 Workbar Offers a Network of Co-Working Office Space

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BetaBoston

Have a peek at how some of the shared workspace providers manage users and spaces locally and worldwide.

“Workbar has partnered with Fields Corner Business Lab and five other regional co-working spaces to create the Workbar Network, which will link these independently run facilities into a larger community…As part of the network, these [original] six sites are now using Workbar’s proprietary software to help manage their members, Cole says. The software provides tools for managers to check people in, coordinate conference room bookings, and promote events and happenings throughout the network at large. ‘It’s everything they need to run the space,’ says Cole.”

“’The reservation system is much easier to manage and it gives us more data,’ says Maudlin, who says the software helped them realize that they had a lot of people who only came to the space on weekends. ‘If we were going to do an event or do something for our members, we now know when are they there the most. It’s a lot more information that we can use to better service our members.’”

0 Seaport Sports New Wayfinding Signs

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: B&T

I’m sorry, which way to the Seaport/Innovation District? Let us help you get there.

According to Banker and Tradesman, “New wayfinding signs were installed in Boston’s Seaport District on Friday as part of a pilot program to make the fast-changing neighborhood more navigable to pedestrians and out-of-town visitors. The first phase includes signs designed to help pedestrians find their way from the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center to neighborhood landmarks such as the Fan Pier, Liberty Wharf and South Station.”

You can read more on the new Seaport signage on B&T.

0 Copley’s Iconic Hancock Tower Named Changed to 200 Clarendon St.

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

Good bye to the JHT, John Hancock Tower, hello 200 Clarendon Street.

From B&T:

Landlord Boston Properties has formally renamed New England’s tallest building, the 60-story John Hancock Tower, now that Manulife’s John Hancock Insurance division no longer occupies any office space in the mirrored glass rhomboid.

“We’re not allowed to call it (the Hancock Tower) anymore as the Hancock Manulife lease expired at the end of the second quarter,” Boston Properties President Douglas Linde said during a conference call today.

Boston Properties acquired the property in 2010 for $930 million. Leases by John Hancock and State Street Corp. totaling 414,000 square feet recently expired, increasing vacancies in the 1.7-million-square-foot tower. Boston Properties is repositioning the former State Street offices as tech space under the “120 St. James” name, reflecting a new entrance on that avenue.

0 Cambridge Lab Space Leads US

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

Great Boston leads the nation with the most expensive lab space.

According to the BBJ, quoting a Sciences Outlook report by brokerage JLL, “Boston and Cambridge are by far the most expensive life sciences markets to rent lab space in the United States…Greater Boston’s life sciences rental rates have climbed 7.4 percent this year to reach an average rate of $47.40 per square foot. In Cambridge specifically, the average lab rent is $51.60 per square foot, the report said. The report also said tenants are currently on the hunt for around 1.3 million square feet of space in the city.”

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

0 Seaport Traffic Relief Sought

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Wil Catlin

The Seaport snarl of traffic is about to get some trialed relief. The bypass road will be opened to general traffic for a six-month trial.

Credit: Boston Globe

From the Boston Globe:

The biggest change begins Monday, when officials will open up a long stretch of the South Boston Bypass Road to all cars as part of a six-month pilot program. The street, created in 1993 for truck traffic from the Big Dig construction project, has been open only to commercial vehicles.

Cars will now be allowed to drive on the portion of the bypass near the convention center at any time, and on the eastbound section from Interstate 93 to Richards Street during the 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. rush hour.

Officials will also allow all passenger cars to travel on the barely-used High Occupancy Vehicle ramp on the northbound side of I-93 near downtown Boston, which brings traffic directly to the Ted Williams Tunnel, removing some airport-bound traffic from local streets.

0 Copley Place Upgrades Planned

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Bisnow

Copley Square is going to see some major upgrade to Copley Place. Simon Properties in planning major interior and exterior upgrades with completion in the Summer of ’16.

Bisnow is reporting that, “come September, Copley Place begins both interior and exterior upgrades. Simon Malls president David Contis says the high-end shopping destination will have a more modern and cohesive look. Simon expects to add a number of luxury retailers. Copley Place will remain open during renovations, with the majority of the project expected to be completed by summer 2016.”

You can read the original post, here.

0 Upgrades Scheduled for Newly Privatized MBTA Station in Back Bay

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Back Bay Station is the 3rd Boston transit hub that has been turned over to the private sector and has some significant deferred maintenance. Boston Properties is doing its part to help bridge the gap.

Credit: Boston Globe

From The Boston Globe:

Just months after signing a $32 million deal to have the real estate giant Boston Properties upgrade the station, the Department of Transportation has agreed to cover six-figure shortfalls in rent from vendors and pay potentially big sums for structural repairs.

The agreement, signed in the closing weeks of the administration of Deval Patrick, calls for Boston Properties to manage the building and renovate the station — installing a new glass facade and windows, updating turnstiles and waiting areas, and bringing in new retail tenants.

In exchange, the company gets the right to build a tower above the station, which opened in 1987.

0 Wells Fargo Signs Lease for 150k Sq. Ft in the Financial District

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Financial District boston office building at 125 High St.

Credit: B&T

Wells Fargo is on the move in the Financial District with a new lease at Tishman Speyer’s building on 125 High Street.

From Banker & Tradesman:

Wells Fargo has leased 150,000 square feet at 125 High St. in the Financial District and will begin relocating 775 employees from three locations in downtown Boston and Back Bay late next year…The 14-year lease for the 11th through 15th floors enables Wells Fargo to consolidate space from three buildings in the downtown and Back Bay beginning in late 2016, spokeswoman Krista Van Tassel said. More than 775 employees will move from 1 Boston Place, 101 Federal St. and 200 Berkeley St.

“We’re a large company and have multiple lines of business in the region,” Van Tassel said. “This is an opportunity to enhance our collaboration.”

0 John Hancock II Planned for 380 Stuart Street in Back Bay

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Wil Catlin

rendering of new john hancock_tower at 380 Stuart Street

Credit: Boston Business Journal

The John Hancock tower Version 2.0 is being planned for 380 Stuart Street in Back Bay.

An article on the BBJ outlines the “six things you need to know about the tower proposal;” here are a few excerpts from the Boston Business Journal’s report:

What’s being proposed: A 625,000-square-foot, 26-story tower with street-level retail and cafe space and 175 underground parking spaces. The tower would top out at 380 feet.
Where would the tower go: 380 Stuart St., which is home to a nine-story, 140,000-square-foot office that dates back to 1924 and houses John Hancock Financial Services employees.
Who would go in: John Hancock envisions “owner-occupancy and commercial office” tenants using the space.
How would it be financed: John Hancock, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian financial services firm Manulife Financial (NYSE: MFC), would finance the building in its entirety.
Who’s leading development:Colliers International is the project manager representing John Hancock. The architects are Chicago-based Skidmore Owings Merrill and Boston-based CBT Architects.
What’s the project timeline: If approved, construction would start in late 2016, and the tower would be complete in early 2019.

0 Boston’s Untracked Development Tax Breaks

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Much time and energy is spent discussing property taxes in the city of Boston. I firmly believe if the city is offering any tax concession then they should track them and be accountable for giving them. By no means should we stop them, rather let’s have a better understanding of how they’re used to benefit the greater good.

Boston development property tax breaks in a map

Credit: Boston Globe

From the Boston Globe:

A Globe review found that city records are incomplete for most of the tax breaks the city awarded during the past four decades. It appears that only recently did the city begin to project how much deals would cost taxpayers.

City Hall could provide cost projections for only 10 major tax deals signed since 2008, totalling an estimated $78 million in lost tax revenue. These include the $9.7 million awarded for the new State Street Corp. office and adjacent garage on A Street, and $7.8 million for the bottom floors of a tower planned for land next to TD Garden.

After the Globe inquired about the city’s incomplete records, the Walsh administration pledged that it would keep better track of the costs of tax deals, almost all of which were signed by previous mayoral administrations.