The Boston Public Library on Boylston Street in Back Bay is changing. The McKim Building built in 1895 faces Copley Square and contains the library’s research collection. The Jonson Building which opened in 1972 is the area of renovation.
Credit: BBJ
The $75.5 million project will be complete by summer 2016. A slideshow of the renovations is available on the Boston Business Journal’s website.
What large office tenants in the city of Boston are looking for a new home? Biznow offers its take on the top tenants looking for space in 2015 in the Boston office market. Included in their list are the following:
Credit: Bisnow
JHT (John Hancock Tower) is no longer home to only large law firms and large financial services firms. Today JHT is chasing tech tenants that want Class A infrastructure and amenities with large floor plates. The low rise floors fit the bill and can be a great value play for both tenant and landlord. Boston Properties purchased the tower on 12/29/2010 for $930 million from Normandy Real Estate Partners.Some of the tenants include:From the Boston Globe:
“Frankly, the tech guys, where most of the demand in the market is, are not necessarily looking to go into a building that’s very corporate feeling,” Martel said. “These technology firms didn’t really care as much about the views. They liked the value, good clear [ceiling] heights, and efficiency.”
Credit: Boston Business Journal
Today’s office tenants are not only using their office to house their staff, meet and greet their customers, but now as a recruiting tool. Kayak hosted an event for new recruits earlier this year at their new 42,000 square foot facility.
From the BBJ:
The chance for non-Kayak employees to show off their tech skills is a win-win for the company and for those techies, said Kayak chief technology officer Giorgos Zacharia in a recent interview.
“We want to be known as a cool company in this area,” said Zacharia. “People don’t know that we moved. The hackathon is a way to make it known that Kayak is now in Cambridge and we’re in this amazing space.”
Credit: WGBH
I must admit I have never heard of this, AquaFence. Boston Properties the owner of Atlantic Wharf at 280 Congress is on the forefront of flood prevention.
A WGBH news article describes the AquaFence; “when it’s assembled, an AquaFence turns a single building into something like a walled city, with one big difference: the side of the wall facing out — toward the encroaching storm water — is connected to a series of panels that lie on the ground. Atlantic Wharf’s property manager, Barrett Cooke, says floodwater is supposed to cover those panels on the ground, weighing them down and strengthening the whole AquaFence.”
Some of the tenants for 280 Congress Street are:
• Wellington Financial
• McKinsey
• TripAdvisor
• Raptor Group
Credit: BBJ
Not only does the Boston Marathon run down Boylston Street, but now that is followed by every tech consumer. Boylston Street is home to the newly opened Verizon mega store at 745 Boylston Street. The next block over at 699 Boylston Street is home to the AT&T mega store. AT&T and Verizon followed the leader, Apple which opened at 815 Boylston Street and Microsoft which is in the Prudential complex at 800 Boylston Street. Need a gadget or some tech support? It can all be had on Boylston between 699 & 800 Boylston Street.
The BBJ summarizes the recent additions, noting “Verizon [is] opening up a superstore on Boylston Street in Boston’s Back Bay later this month. Now today, it’s AT&T that says it’s going to open a 9,000-square-foot store at 699 Boylston, not too far away from the Verizon superstore, which is at 745 Boylston…Both stores show how much Apple has changed the retail experience” in the Back Bay.
You can read more on the Boston Business Journal.
Related Listings
Back Bay office space
Credit: The Boston Globe
The limited supply of Back Bay options is providing a creative opportunity for landlords. Equity Office (EOP) is looking to add 80,000 square feet of space to the front of 500 Boylston Street.
From the Boston Globe:
“Equity Office Properties notified the Boston Redevelopment Authority Friday of its plans to build an 80,000-square-foot addition in front of the 25-story tower and its main entrance. The company also wants to convert up to 50,000 square feet of office space in the tower to retail…500 Boylston was the subject of controversy even before it opened in 1989. Designed by the celebrated architect Philip Johnson with John Burgee Architects, its postmodern style was divisive.”
Credit: BBJ
Boston’s City Hall has long been a debate about what it should have been or what it could be. Would you prefer to see it moved or rebuilt in its current spot?
From the Boston Business Journal:
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh has released, the 200,000-square-foot open-air plaza adjacent to City Hall in the heart of downtown Boston…The RFI seeks to gauge interest and information about the redesign of the plaza, which sees up to 30,000 people each day.
Interested parties can submit ideas on Twitter to @Marty_Walsh or @NotifyBoston using the hashtag #CityHallPlaza.
What’s new at International Place? The donuts have arrived, but get there early!
Photo Illustration by BRA; original image courtesy of The Boston Globe
The opening of Kane’s Handcrafted Donuts at International Place was marked by “a doughnut throwdown worthy of celebrity chef Bobby Flay. Kane’s, which does its frying and baking out of its Saugus store, brought in a batch of its finest…Kane’s has been around since 1955, but it is opening just its second store Wednesday in a tiny 700-square-foot location at street level of Chiofaro’s building,” a Boston Globe article reports.
You can read the article, here.
Does your office look like a maze of cubicles, bench seating or that of today’s tech firms? See how Carbonite has extended their brand onto their walls and doors at their new location?
A Boston Globe article Welcome to the new world of downtown office spaces. As tech firms have migrated into the staid Financial District and nearby environs during the past five years, they’ve done their best to put their unique stamps on work spaces. Goodbye, wood paneling. Hello, Yoda…Their offices have, essentially, become extensions of their brands — physical manifestations of how they view the world, and how they want the world to view them.
You can read the article on the Globe’s website.