0 Needham Business Leaders Push For Change

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

In an uncharacteristic move by the Town of Needham, two permitting changes were made this June. Needham residents have expressed an urge to enhance Downtown Needham with the hope that the reform will pave the way for more significant growth. Among the changes that have taken place, businesses will now have an easier time altering the façade of their office, flex and industrial buildings. Will this have an impact on the look and feel of Needham/Newton office buildings and their asset class?

Newton.WickedLocal notes, “this will save small business owners the hassle of getting on a Planning Board agenda and posting a public notice, plus the optional expense of hiring a lawyer.”

You can read the Wicked Local article, here.

0 Newton & Needham Office Space: the next Kendall Square?

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit Wicked Local

A 500-acre parcel of land that borders Route 95 is undergoing a complete re-development as Mayor Warren and elected officials in Needham are trying to develop the parcel into an attractive place for high-tech companies to set up and begin their business. TripAdvisor, which currently employs 500 people in Newton on Needham Street, announced in December of 2012 that it couldn’t find suitable office space to grow its business in Newton.

Wicked Local reports, “last month Newton Mayor Setti Warren went as far as Israel as part of a mission led by Gov. Deval Patrick to promote the N2 corridor. The mayor returned with the news that he had interested several Israeli companies in visiting the corridor to consider expanding or relocating there. Officials say that’s good news for Newton and Needham because of the added jobs and tax revenue new businesses could bring in.”

0 Newton Adds Another Office Development

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Wil Catlin

An increased amount of parking spaces throughout Newton will exist in the next handful of years strengthening the parking ratios for office space in this market. Typical parking ratios offered in the dynamic Newton market boast three spaces per 1,000 sf lease. With the addition of the Austin Street development, more businesses will be able to accommodate its employees and their cars. Maybe this will persuade commercial landlords in Needham to bolster the parking ratios they offer for their properties?

From Newton.WickedLocal:

“The proposed Austin Street developer will hold an info session at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24 at Newton North High School Cafeteria, not City Hall as previously planned. Residents will be able to meet and share ideas with Austin Street Partners, the recently selected development team.”

0 Northeastern Whiteboard Roams Boston for New Tech Ideas

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Northeastern

Where do good ideas come from? Innovators. Northeastern has a great idea; bring the white board to the street, yes on a truck that hits key destinations within our city.

From the Boston Business Journal:

“Northeastern University is launching a new master’s degree in innovation and is celebrating with a “whiteboard innovation challenge,” meant to identify innovators who might be good candidates for the degree. A total of four questions will be posed in two-week segments for the duration of the eight week contest. Participants will be asked to submit their innovative idea via a whiteboard drawing, taking a photo and posting it for consideration through the D’Amore-McKim Facebook application or on the mobile truck white board at one of the various locations.”

0 Boutique Hotel Plotted for Canal Street Near North Station

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

prospective Boutique Hotel planned for Canal St. in Boston

Credit: Flickr

What do you do with an old bank? Well, on Canal Street in North Station perhaps the best use would be an 80 room hotel. The current zoning in that area is 100 feet the existing single story building would demolished for new construction. What’s nearby? Boston Realty Advisors represent 90 Canal Street which is a 77,976 square foot building with 23,349 square feet available and across the street is new residential construction.

The Boston Business Journal offered an early report on the prospective boutique hotel near North Station:

“Boston’s Bulfinch Triangle, the West End neighborhood across Causeway Street from North Station, could be getting a new hotel…A Woburn-based developer is floating a plan for a boutique hotel with about 80 rooms that would replace the shuttered Bank of America building at 104 Canal St…Somnath Hospitality bought the former bank building in January for $3 million, according to public records. Under the proposal, the one-story, 3,417-square-foot building would be razed to make way for the hotel. Zoning in the neighborhood is limited to 100 feet.”

0 A Look Inside the MassChallenge Workspace (video)

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

What does today’s innovative office space look like? Well MassChallenge has moved into their new offices in Jamestown’s building at 21 Drydock in the Seaport area of Boston. Have a look at cool creative space designed to allows today’s innovators creates tomorrow’s new technology.

The Boston Business Journal describes the accelerator’s move, “Boston-based startup accelerator MassChallenge has officially moved from One Marina Park Drive to 21 Drydock Avenue, in the Innovation and Design Building. Over 100 startups will work in the new place from June 23, kicking off the fifth MassChallenge accelerator program.”

0 A Universal Trend in Workplace Design

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: hok.com

A recent hok.com article on workplace design informs a trend all real estate professionals are seeing. The question is no longer just “how many SF and how long of a term do you need?” It is now, “what do your employees want, what type of environment helps you as the CEO of your company recruit, retain and maximize your talent and production within the space?”

From hok’s Top Trends Influencing Workplace Design:

“People Matter! If there is one macro-trend that encompasses all of the trends listed here, it would be the growing emphasis on people. Workplace design and strategy can play a huge role in helping to maximize the comfort and performance of occupants. Engaging with employees on how the workplace can best support them is a great way to start.”

0 44 Luxury Condos to Line Greenway

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

rendering of proposed luxury condos on the Boston Greenway

Credit: The Boston Herald

What do you want to see on the Greenway? Are you a fan of keeping the green space or providing more housing, retail and office. This plan calls for market condos and 4,000 RSF of retail space to be added to Boston’s Greenway .

From the Boston Herald:

“A Boston developer is looking to build a 12-story luxury condominium building to fill in one of the missing “teeth” facing the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway…Boston Residential Development’s plans for the estimated $40 million India Street project call for 44 condos and some 4,000 square feet of restaurant/retail space on a 7,100-square-foot site that’s now a small parking lot.

The condos would be a mix of one- to three-bedrooms from 600 square feet to 1,750 square feet.“

0 Downtown Crossing Transformation Nears Completion

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

construction in Boston's downtown crossing

Credit: NY Times

Live, work & play. Downtown crossing is in the final phase of its transformation. 23 years ago I moved back to Boston from California and took the T to Park Street and walked to Milk Street daily. At that time you could still buy a suit at Filene’s Basement. Over those years we have seen retailers come and go and some shuttered buildings evolve to residential buildings. Now, we are seeing the area become a destination location for office workers priced out of E. Cambridge, but wish to maintain Red Line access. 1,000 new housing units are coming online and the repurposing of the Daniel H. Burnham building into offices for Arnold Communications.

A national voice on Downtown Crossing, the NY Times, describes “some $4 billion in private investment over the last decade is finally stoking the long-neglected district with both a new attitude and fresh appeal. Developers are rapidly reinventing Downtown Crossing as an upscale residential neighborhood filled with stores, restaurants and cafes catering to students and young professionals.”

The NYT article is available online: New Energy Rouses Boston’s Downtown Crossing

0 Tower Considered at Back Bay Station

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

rendering of proposed tower at Back Bay station

Credit: Boston Globe

The Back Bay skyline could see yet another change on the horizon. Plans state that there would be one high rise and at least one mid-rise tower on the site. The present building was designed by Kallmann McKinnell & Wood and opened in 1987. That building replaced the older station that opened in 1928 for New Haven Railroad.

The Boston Globe reported on the considered remodeling of Back Bay Station, nothing “the owner of the John Hancock Tower in Boston is negotiating with Governor Deval Patrick’s administration to renovate and manage the MBTA’s Back Bay Station in exchange for the right to build a towering complex of residences, stores, and offices… [it would include] a skyscraper and at least one other building above the rehabilitated station, which would get a new retail arcade, ventilation upgrades, and a glass facade along Dartmouth Street.”

The full Globe article is available online, here.