0 Abstract Art Showcased in front of 225 Franklin St.

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Wil Catlin

There is some new artwork in the Financial District across from the Langham Hotel. Ab Initio, created by Brad Howe. His work from 2011 to present can be found, here.

Credit: BBJ

The Boston Business Journal notes, “the stainless steel work, titled “Ab Initio,” a Latin phrase meaning “from the beginning,” was created by Brad Howe, a native of Brazil who lives in California. It features splashes of black and red color as well as holes that allow pedestrians to see through it…’The holes enable you to look through so they can engage the city from more than one standpoint instead of something that is solid and blocks the view'”

Click through to the BBJ to read additional details on the work.

0 Boston Occupancy Grows in Q2

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Over the 2nd quarter of 2014 the greater Boston office tenant gobbled up 25,555 RSF per day. Not just week days, but weekends included, which dropped our vacancy to 16.3 percent. What does that mean in building size? 2 Prudential Towers of activity.

From BostonSF.com:

“The amount of capital looking to be deployed in the Greater Boston market is abundant and aggregate sales volume is on pace to be the highest level since 2007.”

0 Watertown Office Market Undergoing Rapid Change

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: ProgrammableWeb.com

Pleasant Street in Watertown is undergoing rapid change in regards to new construction and the purchase of existing buildings between there and Waltham. It is becoming a hotbed for CRE investors and start-up tech firms are beginning to trickle in from Cambridge because of how competitive the market is.

Maybe this trend will continue to push out into Greater Boston and will have a long term effect on Needham and Newton office space?

0 The Belclare in Wellesley Takes Shape

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Wellesley office building Belclare being built

Credit: Wicked Local

The Wellesley Inn Site, home to a future re-development of Class A residential condominiums, is finally making progress after it has sat vacant for nearly a decade. Maybe this will motivate Ownerships along the Washington Street corridor to capitalize on the “highest and best-use” for their property. With a future influx of residents coming to the area, perhaps local developers will see the need to build additional office buildings in Wellesley and the strong markets surrounding such as Needham and Newton.

Wicked Local offers the following quote from John Warshaw, developer of Belclare in Wellesley:

“It was a bit of a challenge at the beginning to get people interested,” [Belclare developer Jordan Warshaw] said, “Once it got going there’s been great momentum.” After only a few months on the market, Warshaw said that nearly half of the new units were spoken for. Eight months into construction the residential units are nearly sold out.”

0 What’s your Building’s Wired Score?

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: WiredNYC

“WiredNYC is an initiative of the Bloomberg Administration aimed at bringing transparency to broadband connectivity in NYC office buildings. Our core mission is to encourage landlords and tenants to share information about broadband infrastructure in their buildings.”

Why does this matter in Boston? Because they are coming.

The goal is for landlords to market the amenities they have, which have been verified by a 3rd party — wiredscore — while providing tenants with a 3rd party opinion of what the building is wired for.

0 Boston’s Newest “Innovation District” Emerging in Downtown Crossing

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Wil Catlin

office space for lease on Arch Street in Boston

33 Arch Street, Boston

Why are Tech and E-Commerce companies moving to Downtown Crossing?

Value – This seems easy, but a low to mid $30’s rent is still achievable within the Class B portfolio of options
Location – The neighborhood includes Class A office Towers, the new Millennium Place Condo’s, grocery store
Amenities – Live, Work, Play
Transportation – This area sits above the Red, Orange and Green Line and is a short walk to the Blue Line at State Street

From BostonSF.com:

“According to a new commercial real estate market report released by Cresa, Downtown Boston is still considered one of the country’s most dynamic office markets. As traditional industries, such as banking and financial institutions, in the Financial District continue to downsize and consolidate, large blocks of inventory are becoming available to tenants. And as technology and e-commerce companies continue to populate Downtown Crossing, the area is becoming Boston’s new ‘Innovation District.'”

0 DeFazio Park in Needham: Talks of New Building Swirl

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Massachusetts School Building Authority

Looking for new office space in Needham? A new multi-family development? A new neighborhood? These are just a few of the questions that local Needham residents have been wondering since discussions have progressed about reconstructing the Hillside school.

According to Wicked Local, “the Hillside school reconstruction project is moving into feasibility phase after an affirmative vote last week by the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

The full Wicked Local article is available on Needham.WickedLocal.com.

0 Needham Crossing Progressing

Posted on August 2, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: prnewswire

The Town of Needham is experiencing a boom in development. With an abundance of newly-constructed office buildings in Needham, recent zoning changes as well as the state’s add-a-lane highway project –- which will include on- and off-ramps for Route 128 at Kendrick Street -– Jeremy Freid, a partner in the suburban arm of Boston Realty Advisors, believes said change will send positive signals to the business community.

A Needham Times editorial on WickedLocal, Let Needham Crossing thrive, includes a progress report on the commercial development:

“The biggest boon to Needham Crossing came in late 2012 when TripAdvisor agreed to move its headquarters there after Needham Town Meeting approved $1.8 million in tax breaks for the company in exchange for construction of a new headquarters and the hiring of 250 additional employees over five years. The new headquarters is slowly coming to fruition. Its steel frame is already up, and the project is moving toward a 2015 completion date.”

0 Boston Suburban Office Parks get Reinvented

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Owners and developers across Eastern Massachusetts are seeking to reinvent the suburban office park. In communities such as Waltham, Newton and Needham, developers are adding restaurants, hotels and other amenities to replicate the idea of “live, work, play,” which is an increasing popular attraction in the city. Needham’s soon-to-be largest office tenant, Trip Advisors, will benefit directly from this “live, work, play” attraction.

Credit: The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe quantifies the divide between Boston’s urban and suburban landscapes:

“Along Interstate 495, the vacancy rate for Class A offices is hovering at nearly 18 percent, compared with 11.5 percent in Boston and less than 6 percent in Cambridge. Commercial rents are depressed. Offices lease for only $20 per square foot in the region, less than half of what similar space fetches in Boston and Cambridge, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, a commercial real estate firm.”

0 More Office Towers Wanted in Boston

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Wil Catlin

The Boston office market needs more towers to accommodate the forecasted future growth and tenant demands of strong infrastructure with abundant amenities. Tower’s no longer solely focus on traditional tenants, now prospective tenants range technology firms to ecommerce.

Credit: Wikipedia

Cathy Thompson, Executive vp at DTZ, discussed in an interview with the BBJ the notion that Boston is still very much a landlord’s market:

“In the Back Bay and Seaport submarkets, vacancies in the Class A towers are in the low single digits. Some the spaces in the upper floors in the Back Bay towers are commanding rents in the $80s (per square foot). In the Seaport, the top rents are in the low $60s in the new spaces. There’s a flight to quality, an upgrading of space. Landlords are taking advantage of the fact that there isn’t much high quality space available right now for blocks of space above 75,000 square feet.”

The full interview with Ms. Thompson is available on the Boston Business Journal’s website.