0 Collaborative Office Space Trending in Cambridge

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Bring the walls down and let’s see and hear each other. That is the new norm is office space, gone are the vast array of private offices. Today’s office layout is vastly different than just 10 years ago; today’s employees can expect to work in a benching platform, sitting very close to their coworkers. Their work station would have very little is any actual storage space and in some case may not even have land line if the role of that person is non customer related. The big delta is common space, this looks more like a large family room.

Credit: Boston.com

In an interview with Boston.com, Swedish architect, Gert Wingårdh, said “his [newest] design is aimed at improving company communications, a problem many businesses identify with. ‘Usually our surveys tell us that communications is lacking all over the world,’ said Wingårdh. ‘When employees have the same space to share, it enhances their sense of one another.’ With no walls between workstations, Wingårdh says employees will become aware of each other. At EF, even the CEO works in an open workstation.”

0 Greenway Condos to Fill Existing Parking Lot

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker & Tradesman

Your favorite parking lot is going the way of residential condo’s on the Greenway. Parking in the city continues to cost more and there are fewer available options. Back Bay’s monthly rate can range from $350 to $500, while the Financial District can be from $400 to $525.

From Banker & Tradesman:

“City officials have approved a $45 million condo project that will be built on a parking lot overlooking the Rose Kennedy Greenway…The 67,000-square-foot, 12-story building at 55 India St. will contain 44 one- to three-bedroom condos and 4,000 square feet of commercial space. The site consists of three parcels, two of which are privately owned and one acquired from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.”

0 Uber Moving to North Station Area of Boston

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Uber is on the move and headed for new digs in the North Station area of Boston. The North Station office market still reigns as a value option compared with Back Bay and the Seaport.

The Boston Herald describes the scale of Uber’s new space at 239 Causeway St., noting “The 17,494-square-foot office is nearly three times the size of the company’s current office near South Station, and comes with an option to expand to another floor in the future.”

Rents in the Class B market can range from the low to mid $30’s PSF.

0 Kendall Square Open Space and Design Competition Announces Finalists

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Wil Catlin

How does your open space rank amongst your peers in East Cambridge/Kendall? Interested in learning more, come to the open forum.

“The competition, sponsored by the City’s Community Development Department, is an opportunity to plan a vision for the entire open space network in Kendall Square and eastern Cambridge and vicinity. The city is looking for unique approaches to open space planning and design,” notes WickedLocal.

You can read more about the competition at www.ConnectKendallSquare.com.

0 Largest Office Buildings in Boston

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Click on the image to view the John Hancock Tower property detail page

Which office building in Boston stands the tallest, and how does yours rank? In Boston’s Back Bay, the John Hancock Towers reigns supreme.

Some facts about the building:

60 Stories
Designed by Henry N. Cobb of the firm I. M. Pei & Partners
Completed in 1976
It has been the tallest building in Boston and New England for more than 30 years

The Boston Business Journal has put together a list of the top 25 largest office buildings in Greater Boston, ranked by Total Rentable Building Area.

Credit: Boston Business Journal

0 North Station Tower Complex: Construction Set to Begin Oct. 27

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

North Station’s first new tower is set to break grown. This will add 688,550 rentable square of office and retail.

From Banker & Tradesman:

“The first leg of the 1.9-million-square-foot North Station tower complex, one of Boston’s biggest mixed-use developments, is set to begin construction.
AvalonBay Communities will break ground Oct. 27 on Avalon North Station, a 38-story apartment tower located between the TD Garden and Nashua Street. The project was approved by city regulators in 2013. Plans call for 497 apartments in a 636,550-square-foot structure…The complex also will contain a 306-room hotel, 668,000 square feet of office space, restaurants and retail space including a supermarket. Developers received a $7.8-million, 15-year tax break from the administration of former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.”

0 Is Boston Properties’ Recent Selling Activity Noteworthy?

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Boston office building at 100 Federal Street

Credit: BBJ

Boston Properties is selling; should we be worried? No, we are seeing may other institutional investors pouring dollars into the Boston Class A office market.

The Boston Business Journal offers some historical context on Boston Properties’ market activities, “A Bloomberg reporter recently noted that the last time this happened, the company cashed out of significant real estate holdings just before the 2008 crash…[however] In their Boston presentation to investors, Boston Properties executives sounded anything but alarmed about markets. An unofficial transcript made available by Bloomberg to subscribers quotes company leaders speaking effusively about the Cambridge and Waltham markets and positively, if in a more-reserved manner, about the Boston market for high-end tenants.”

The complete BBJ article is available, here.

0 Boston Parking: A Growing Challenge for Hub Commuters

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: The Boston Globe

How long does it take for you to find a parking space or have you given up. My father would say, as he combed the Financial District for the coveted spot, you have to believe. Believe that there is a spot for you. Well, for those that don’t follow that model, they have found that getting that spot is nearly unattainable. I rely on the T and Uber, during prime time and use the believe method for early morning meetings.

A recent Boston Globe article indicates that the daily plight for Boston commuters is only worsening. “Boston’s current parking crunch is the product of conflicting ambitions. City planners placed parking caps on downtown and South Boston years ago, hoping to reduce pollution and encourage the use of public transportation, while mayors and developers pressed for business and residential expansion…James Gillooly, interim commissioner of the Boston Transportation Department, estimates about 3,000 spaces have been eliminated in the Seaport area over the past several years, as offices, condos and hotels have replaced open lots…’As this neighborhood grows,’ said Gillooly, “there will be spaces that used to be used by people in the financial district, who now have to come up with a new strategy of how to come and go from work.’’

More information on Boston’s transforming parking landscape is posted on The Boston Globe’s website.

0 New Office Tower Proposed for Boston Financial District

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Wil Catlin

The skyline in Boston is getting some more airtime in Boston Financial District. The parcel of late is the shuttered garage between Federal Street and Devonshire Street.

Credit: cognoscenti.wbur.org

According to Wbur.org, “entrepreneur Steve Belkin is again pushing a bold proposal for a new skyscraper in Boston’s Financial District. Somewhat more modest than previous designs, the still impressive building would stand 740 feet tall and feature a hotel, shopping venues, office space and, if permitted, 150 new condominiums.”

Details on the proposed tower in Boston’s Financial District are available on wbur.org.

0 Somerville Efforts to Become Carbon Neutral by 2050

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

The City of Somerville might be onto something here; it is efforting to become carbon neutral by 2050. If all things are equal or at least close to equal, I believe local small-to-mid-sized companies would embrace the green initiative. The challenge only really exists when being green adds measurable cost to the companies monthly overhead.

From the BBJ:

“‘Sustainability and taking care of the environment is a deeply held conviction of the community,’ said Daniel DeMaina, media manager for the city of Somerville, in an interview…The city will release a form called a Request for Information, for companies to propose their green-tech ideas at an event on Oct. 21. Companies have until Dec. 1 to submit their plans.”