0 Boston Snow-clearing Progress Available Online

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Wil Catlin

The calendar has turned to February and we are in the midpoint of winter. When you consider a location for your new office you might want to check and make sure the address gets good service by the City of Boston Department of Public Works. You can also check out a new site, Snow Stats, that allows the city to post snow clearing activity. The site is by no means a snow-cam mounted on the front of the truck looking at what needs to be plowed, and a camera on the back looking at the results, but it is a start.

Credit: snowstats.boston.gov

According to the Boston Business Journal, “Snow Stats, officially launched by the city on Monday during the second big snowstorm in as many weeks, allows residents to monitor Boston’s snow operations including an overview of the season showing the total miles and hours plowed, salt used, and total snowfall. The site also shows what phase the snow operation is in, and what tasks are being completed in each snow response phase.”

You can read more on the site on the BBJ.

0 Seaport Growth Necessitates Transit Overhaul

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker and Tradesman

The fast growing market is the Seaport of Boston. The growth has put a tremendous squeeze on all aspects that connect that part of the city to its surrounding areas and the city is looking at a variety of solutions to ease the commuter pain. This would range from the haul road, ferry service and Silver line. This by no means will happen overnight, but at least it is getting the attention it requires.

Banker and Tradesman outlines the immediate actions recommended within [the next] six months:

• Expand use of the Bypass Road to all vehicles from Richards Street to West Service Road full-time and from I-93 to Richards Street eastbound during the morning rush hour.
• Allow all vehicles to use the northbound HOV lane from I-93 to the Ted Williams Tunnel.
• Speed up the Silver Line by giving it signal priority at the D Street intersection and add real-time arrival information for passengers.
• Install new Hubway bike sharing stations at Thomson Place, the Gillette Co. and Channel Center.
• Consolidate corporate shuttle bus services along A Street.

You can read the full B&T article on its website, here.

0 Office Space Super Bowl

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: rejournals.com

Office Vacancy and the Super bowl, the city with the highest vacancy rate wins.

REjournals compared Boston and Seattle’s office markets, citing a correlation between office vacancies and Super Bowl victories: “according to JLL, NFL teams based in cities with higher office vacancy rates have won the Lombardi Trophy 60 percent of the time in the past 15 seasons, including seven straight years from 2000 through 2006…This year, Boston’s office vacancy rate is 14.7 percent while Seattle’s is 10.7 percent. Based on this statistic, the odds favor New England.”

You can read the complete analysis on rejournals.com.

0 Back Bay and North Station May Get New Office Towers

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: B&T

Boston Properties is moving forward with 2 major projects located at 2 transportation hubs. Back Bay Station is the proposed spot of a new tower development, while North Station will benefit from the same.

From Banker and Tradesman:

The real estate investment trust said this morning it has entered a joint venture to acquire the air rights for the 377,000-square-foot initial phase of the North Station redevelopment. It also has signed a 44-year extension on its lease for the Clarendon Street parking garage with the state Department of Transportation, part of a larger proposal to build two towers containing offices, residences and retail above Back Bay Station. As part of the agreement, Boston Properties will take over management of the renovated station, which serves the Orange Line subway and several commuter rail lines.

0 New Greenline Stops Bode Well for Cambridge Real Estate

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Bostinno.Streetwise.co

The city of Boston is growing its daytime and nighttime population and with that comes infrastructure, who steps in? The T. Well yes, it has been discussed for years, but the Greenline is adding six stops in Cambridge, Somerville and Medford. While some might argue that the Greenline is slow and clunky, yes it’s the old subway in the country, is still performs. By adding these stops commuters will gain affordable timely access to the city.

Bostinno.Streetwise notes the MBTA’s Green Line Extension project or GLX, calls for “a total of six new Green Line stops added in Cambridge, Somerville and Medford, as well as the relocation of the existing Lechmere Station. One of those planned stops is Union Square – a location which is due to receive its own billion dollar makeover.”

For more info on the GLX, jump over to Bostinno.Streetwise.

0 Seaport District, Fort Point Channel Thriving

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Bostonsf

The Seaport continues to show the market that it’s going to remain a dominate force in the Boston office market. Rents are up, vacancy is down and demand is strong. The challenge is the only new construction is Class A, so if you are seeking updated brick-and-bean, wait in line or be prepared to pay for it.

Alternatives that trade about $8 – $12 per square below would be Boston’s Financial District or the Leather District.

Indicative of the Seaport neighborhood’s appeal, BostonSF.com reports HFF recently closed a “$105.625 million sale of 3-building office portfolio Boston’s Seaport District…HFF announced that it has closed sale of three best-in-class, creative office assets totaling 221,064 square feet and 35 parking spaces.”

You can read more about the significant, three-building office space sale in the Seaport on Bostonsf.com.

0 Boston Residents can Monitor City’s Development Projects

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Wil Catlin

What is going on over there? That is one question that gets asked time and time again about commercial developments in Boston. Looking to track the Hub’s developments? Now there is an App for that.

According to the BBJ, “Boston residents will be able to track local projects, find meeting times, and submit online feedback through a new online forum hosted on Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development website and at CoUrbanize.com. The move, the city said, would increase transparency in the development process for city-owned land and city-funded housing developments…The city of Boston is using the CoUrbanize platform to catalogue information about city-owned land and buildings available for development, in addition to collecting information about affordable housing developments in which the city has an investment.”

The full article is available on the Boston vertical of the BizJournals website: BizJournals.com/Boston.

0 Newbury Street Real Estate Goes in ‘Hub Buying Spree’

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: The Real Reporter

Urban Meritage closes on another piece of Newbury Street real estate by adding 50,000 rentable square feet.

From The Real Reporter:

Bringing its CRE holdings secured here to 11 properties in just 21 months, the partnership of Urban Meritage and Novaya Ventures (UMNV) has taken a giant step forth in purchasing the hulking six-story 126 Newbury St. from its longtime New York owner in an eye-popping $54.2 million deal consummated earlier today. Rudin Management’s trade brings UMNV’s portfolio of assets focused along the famed shopping boulevard to nearly $150 million, blowing past the $100 million level in one fell swoop and giving the firm three prime buildings between Berkeley and Exeter Streets, the latest on the third block up from the Boston Public Garden and next to the second block where UMNV began its platform via the $10.0 million.

0 Faneuil Hall Renovation Detailed

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BostInno

Faneuil Hall is looking to make some changes. A 180 room hotel, freshened up food court and a shake up of existing tenants.

From Bostinno.Streetwise:

The updates to Quincy Market, which include the new retailers, the hotel and more developments, are all part of Ashkenazy’s plan to make Faneuil Hall more attractive to those living in Boston…we also learned that Faneuil’s notorious brick walkways could be repaved with smooth granite, with benches replaced by movable chairs, drastically changing the marketplace’s familiar and historical facade – but making it easier to walk, especially for those in heels.

Past coverage of the impending changes in Faneuil Hall have filtered in from both the Boston Globe(in September) and the New York Times (in early December). While today’s City Council meeting was held in regards to the impact on pushcart vendors in Faneuil Hall, the conversation focused on the many alterations slated for the marketplace. The redevelopment is in its early stages, and some of the proposed changes would require the BRA’s Article 80 review.

0 Boston Tops US in CMBS Loans

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Wil Catlin

745 Boylston Street office building in Boston

Office Building at 745 Boylston Street in Copley Sq.

Boston leads New York, D.C., Chicago and L.A. not only in the bid for the 2024 Olympics, but also for CMBS loans.

The Boston Business Journal is reporting the “percentage of Boston-area commercial mortgage backed security real estate loans with late payments is its lowest in months and is among the best in the country, according to new data from real estate information provider Trepp,,,According to Trepp, 2.84 percent of Boston-area CMBS loans were 30 days delinquent or more as of the end of November. A year ago, the rate was 4.02 percent. The decline has been more or less steady, with slight increases a few months…The Boston-area compares especially well with other major U.S markets.

You can find more information on the BBJ’s website.