0 Boston Office Market Ranks Third In Global Rent Growth

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Wil Catlin

view of Boston's office buildings over the water

Credit: Banker&Tradesman

Boston is 3rd in office rent growth for 2014 behind Singapore and San Francisco. The factors that drive Boston are the innovative economy and the extensive university presence. The YE Market Report (link below) goes through the Downtown Class B office market fundamentals.

“According to Banker&Tradesman, Boston ranked first globally with a 34.6-percent increase in capital value growth. Foreign investors drove up prices of the Boston region’s commercial real estate, with investors such as Toronto-based Oxford Properties Group and Norges Bank Investment Management buying trophy office buildings in Boston and Cambridge. The index is designed to identify which cities are changing the fastest by combining real estate data with socioeconomic factors.”

You can download a pdf of the report here: http://www.bostonrealestates.com/reports/year-end-2014/Downtown/YE-MarketReport-Downtown-lo.pdf

0 Fort Point Drinks and Dining Reference: Top Spots to Hit After Work

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Best eats in the Seaport/Innovation/Fort Point area of Boston for startups. What does where you dine say about where you work? Bostinno.Streetwise.co has put together a handy reference to reflect the “favorite spots to hit after a long at the office” in the Fort Point neighborhood.

Credit: Bostinno.Streetwise.co

The article includes the following venues, and is available on the Bostinno website:

Tavern Road, 343 Congress Street
Bastille Kitchen, 49 Melcher Street
Blue Dragon, 324 A Street
Barlow’s, 241 A Street
Lucky’s Lounge, 355 Congress Street
Row 34, 383 Congress St

0 Winthrop Square Development Looking for Boost

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

Do you have a creative idea for a Boston office/residential tower? If yes, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, BRA, would like to hear from you by April 13th. What exactly is the BRA looking for? Creative ideas. Sounds simple enough so give it some thought and see what sticks.

The address is 115 Winthrop Square/115 Federal Street

Please visit: http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/work-with-the-bra/rfps-rfqs-bids/rfp-listing-page?id=41

0 B.Good Executives Among Boston’s Shared Office Space Aficionados

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Wil Catlin

shared office space on Newbury Street in Boston

Credit: Boston Globe

What types of business use shared workspaces? Well, the cofounder of b.good is an avid user of Oficio on Newbury Street.

“Jon Olinto, cofounder of the restaurant chain b.good and [his] b.good cofounder Anthony Ackil, his childhood best friend, hold job interviews and meetings in conference rooms at Oficio, which runs two shared office spaces on Newbury Street. About 350 entrepreneurs and companies rent space at Oficio, paying anywhere from $69 a month to use the mailing address to $2,300 a month for a dedicated office for a team of eight workers, with 24/7 access. Oficio provides lunch about once a week, hosts networking events, and schedules guest speakers, such as accountants, to talk about the basics of running a business,” according to a Boston Globe article.

You can read the full Globe article, here. Alternatively, you can use our resources for more information on shared workspaces in Boston.

0 Northern Avenue Bridge Closure Impacting Local Businesses

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Wil Catlin

View of the northern avenue bridge in Boston illuminated by purple lights at night

Credit: The Boston Globe

How do you get from the Financial District to the Seaport? This question sounds simple enough; drive, public transit or walk. All three have their challenges and with the closure of the Northern Avenue bridge, some pedestrians and business are feeling the pinch.

A recent Boston Globe article assessed the impact the bridge closing is having on local businesses:

“The short answer is yes, it has,” says Alex Blake, director of operations at The Barking Crab, when asked if the closure of the footbridge has affected business. “Our pedestrian business. The Northern Avenue Bridge was an easier bridge to cross than the Moakley Bridge is. We are more difficult to find, because the Northern Ave. Bridge would drop people right off at our front door.”

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

0 Boston Office Market Continues to Soar

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Nerej.com

Rents are on the move, upward and don’t see any signs of letting up. Class B product in the Downtown Crossing (DTX) area of the city have seen increases from the high $20’s a couple of years ago to the low $40’s. Future predictions expect the 2016 levels to surpass the 2000 and 2007 markets peaks.

Nerej.com notes, “the city of Boston office market is absolutely exploding. 1.72 million s/f of office space was absorbed in 2014, 35% more than in 2013, and 50% more than in 2012. What statistics do not show is that Boston as a city has $110 billion in total assessed value for all its properties; $4 billion in new construction breaking ground, 4,500 current job openings and 44 tech IPO’s in the pipeline. 50% of total absorption in 2014 was urban migration from the suburbs. As of the start of 2015, there are 222,000 s/f of tenants in the market for downtown space alone.

You can read more about the Boston Office Market explosion on Nerej.com.

0 New Boston Design Center Showrooms Open

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: B&T

After completing $13 million in renovations, Jamestown is proud to announce some new tenants in the Design Center.

From Banker & Tradesman:

Jamestown, a real estate investment and development company headquartered in Atlanta, leases the 550,000-square-foot complex in the 1.4-million-square-foot Innovation and Design Building complex from the city of Boston. The complex contains 550,000 square feet dedicated to luxury home furnishing showrooms along with office and innovation space...Jamestown recently completed more than $13 million in interior renovations at the center, the first major physical updates since it opened in 1985. The project included renovations of the lobby, common spaces and seminar room and new finishes and furniture from design center tenants.

0 Residential Tower Planned for Greenway

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

A new residential mid-rise is coming to Broad Street on the Greenway, included in the project will be a street level café and 52 residential units. What’s going away? The Times Irish Pub & Restaurant.

The BBJ notes the “project would create 175 construction jobs. If approved by the BRA, construction would begin this summer and wrap up in winter 2016…The proposed 110 Broad St. project is located adjacent to 55 India St., a surface parking lot which is the site of a planned $45 million, 12-story, 44-unit condominium tower with ground-floor retail tower that’s been approved by the BRA.”

You can find the full article on the Boston Business Journal, here.

0 Charlestown Office Space Attracts Light Bulb

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Wil Catlin

As rents continue to push northward tenants are search for value options. In this particular case value is located in Charlestown for Light Blub, which lured the company away from Cambridge.

Credit: bizjournals.com

From the BBJ:

Light Bulb had been located in 2,000 square feet at the Cambridge Innovation Center, a coworking space for startups, before looking to branch out. The company was considering other office space in Cambridge or Boston. But it was a recently renovated brick-and-beam office building at 56 Roland St. in Charlestown that caught Finally Light Bulb’s eye…The company will expand to 8,000 square feet in March at the office, quadrupling its existing space.

0 South End 200-room Hotel Proposed Near Ink Block

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Boston’s hotel community is hoping to welcome a new player to the scene, AC Marriot. The brand has started in Europe and has recently expanded into the U.S. market. If you are thinking about where your clients will stay when visiting your office, the following map outlines a 15 minute walk to the new proposed hotel.

Credit: InkBlockBoston

The Boston Globe indicates, if approved, “the six-story AC Marriott would be on Albany Street, adjacent to the Ink Block site. It would replace a pair of low-slung brick buildings that formerly housed offices for Independent Taxi and F.W. Webb…The company wants to start construction in the fall, with the hotel’s opening scheduled for early 2017.”

You can read more on the Boston Globe’s website.