Category Archives: Back Bay office Buildings

0 Boston’s John Hancock Tower Nears 47

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Hancock tower in Boston

Credit: Boston Globe

Boston is under a major construction boom which is evident as you look across our skyline.  The John Hancock tower was a major milestone in our city when the project broke ground in August of 1968.

From the Boston Globe:

The groundbreaking ceremony for New England’s tallest building, the John Hancock Tower, was on Aug. 21, 1968. The 60-story minimalist structure was constructed with huge panes of reflective glass that proved to be a problem in the 1970s. Many panes of glass crashed to the ground with high wind speeds, causing street closures and huge safety concerns. After pane replacement and structural fixes that stabilized the tower, the actual cost of the construction nearly doubled the projected budget.

0 Kendall Square to Copley Move for Notable Cambridge Firms

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4 Copley Place

Credit: Wayfair

The pilgrimage to Boston continues as Cambridge tightens; InsightSquared and Architectural Resources will soon call Back Bay home.

The BBJ notes, “Business analytics firm InsightSquared, which just last spring moved into expanded office spaces at 160 Second St., this September will move to a 45,000-square-foot office at 4 Copley Place. The office spans two floors and is almost triple the size of Insight Squared’s 16,000-square-foot Kendall Square location…The expansion is driven by InsightSquared’s growing customer count and revenue, a company representative said. The office will also accommodate the firm’s growing employee base, which has doubled to more than 150 in the past year.”

You can real the full Boston Business Journal report on its website, here.

Relevant Available Real Estate in Boston and Cambridge
Kendall Square Office Space
Back Bay office space for lease

0 Can the Supply of Office Space in Boston Keep up with Demand?

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office buildings in boston on the waterfront

Credit: Banker&Tradesman

The Boston market will continue to grow through 2018.  How will this affect office pricing in the years to come?

From Banker&Tradesman:

“The challenge you have in the city of Boston is: do we create too much supply and get to a point where we’re not seeing rent growth?” said Mitchell Roschelle, PwC’s national practice head of real estate advisory. “We heard this quarter in the survey a little bit of concern on the part of some investors about the new supply to the market. How that supply performs is going to dictate whether we see investors flooding the market with capital.”

The tenant retention rate was 68 percent in the first quarter with landlords offering an average of five months of free rent, according to the survey. Cap rates averaged 5.7 percent in the Boston central business district and 7.2 percent in the suburbs. Boston is one of 32 U.S. office markets expected to remain in expansion phase in 2015, the PwC report said, with employment generating demand for office space outpacing new supply…San Francisco, which shares many of Boston’s market characteristics, is expected to contract in 2015 and enter a recession mode with negative rental growth in 2017.

0 Boston Experiencing Historic Commercial Building Boom

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rendering of office tower at Belvidere and Dalton East

Credit: Boston Globe

The Boston skyline is on the move.  A Boston Globe editorial notes, “Boston is in the midst of a building boom never seen in its history, with an influx of new residents and companies giving rise to skyscraping towers, thousands of homes, and retail businesses that are redefining commercial districts citywide.” The Globe followed the article with a list of 50 of the largest development projects organized by expected square feet.

Among these office developments are projects at the Government Center Garage, South Station air rights, Tremont Crossing, and Landmark Center in Fenway.

Jump over to the Globe to read through its complete list of the top Boston Office Developments in progress.

 

0 Overhaul of Prudential Center Food Court Presents Lunchtime Void

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food court at the prudential center in Back bay

Credit: The Boston Globe

For 22 years the food court at the Pru has been a Back Bay mainstay, come June 30th it will be a memory.  Boston Properties despite their lack of comment have a clear vision for their customers and execute flawlessly.  Rest assured, lunch will be served again, just be patient while our city continues to change.

From the Boston Globe:

The food court at the Shops at the Prudential is scheduled to close at the end of June, and its replacement, a massive Eataly marketplace, won’t open for more than a year…Some applaud the decision to open an Eataly, which hopes to draw 5 million customers a year, in the space in September 2016. At least until the marketplace opens, the lunch-scene void is an opportunity for other businesses, said Ani Collum, a partner at the Norwell consultancy Retail Concepts…Collum said food trucks and other mobile vendors should set up near the Pru to cash in because time-strapped workers may not have a long enough break to eat at a restaurant. Nearby establishments would also be smart to offer to deliver to the office buildings, she said.

0 Courtyard Development Planned at 500 Boylston

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Not only is 500 Boylston Street on the market, it’s looking to grow as well by 77,300 square feet.  This would include up to 3 floors of retail and create a lobby with a gathering place with open seating.

Copley Place Boston

Credit: Boston Herald

From the Boston Herald:

“The project will improve the pedestrian experience along Boylston Street by filling in an underused courtyard,” said Equity Office Properties in a BRA filing. “(It) will activate the sidewalks and street edge on Boylston Street, and will improve the retail experience.

The new building would house 79,300 square feet of retail and office space, and would replace a recessed courtyard off Boylston Street…Instead of the courtyard, developers say a lobby will serve as a gathering place, with seating and potentially a fireplace.

0 Two Office Buildings in Back Bay Listed for $1.5 billion

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Boylston Street commercial real estate Back Bay

Credit: Boston Globe

The Boston commercial real estate market continues northward with no signs of letting up.  222 Berkeley Street and 500 Boylston Street are set move in a record trade at over $1,150 per square foot.

From the Boston Globe:

The buildings total about 1.3 million square feet in size. A sale for $1.5 billion would put the price at nearly $1,150 per square foot, far higher than the selling prices of other commercial properties in Boston’s key business districts, which rarely top $700 per square foot…The Back Bay buildings are owned by a Blackstone subsidiary, Equity Office Properties, and share an underground parking garage. They are near the Public Garden, the Orange Line and commuter rail trains at Back Bay Station, and dozens of high-end retail shops.

0 Is Boston an Architectural Eyesore?

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Office space in Copley

Office Building in Back Bay at 111 Huntington Ave.

No Boston isn’t ugly and as a matter of fact, it’s beautiful.  Opinions are just that, opinions and each of us are allowed to express ours despite who it might offend.

Boston Magazine has a strong one, noting “the dirty little secret behind Boston’s building boom is that it’s profoundly banal—designed without any imagination, straight out of the box, built to please banks rather than people…Renderings of 30 Dalton show how its panel-and-glass motif will create a relentless gridded box of windows from floor to sky: Click, copy, and paste. A few weeks after 30 Dalton’s miniature arrived on the site, the backhoes arrived to carve a foundation out of what had been a parking lot. A few feet away, the old brownstones of St. Germain Street—the ghosts of Boston’s long-lost architectural ambitions—hunkered down in 19th-century resignation.”

We must, however, remind everyone that the office market today is vastly different from decades past.  Today’s tenant wants floor to ceiling light with as many corners on each floor.  111 Huntington Avenue is one most sought after address’s in Back Bay with its efficient floor plates combined with abundant amenities.

The only space available is a sublease on the 5th floor, so from Boston Properties’ perspective, the building is fully leased.

0 Boston Startup moves from Cambridge to Newbury Street to Expand Workforce

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Bridj is on the move and parked on Newbury Street.  283/285 Newbury Street offered an experience that aligned well with vision of Matt George, Bridj founder and CEO.  Off street parking, roof deck and 3 floors of creative space.

office space on newbury street

Credit: BBJ

Bridj has elected to share this experience through Pivotdesk, have a look and see if it works for your growing team.

From the Boston Business Journal:

The company moved out of a co-working space at the Cambridge Innovation Center into a 5,400-square-foot space at 283 Newbury St. in Boston earlier this year.

“We were outgrowing the CIC and while co-working spaces are great and they have lots of benefits and amenities, it’s really hard to start building your own culture (there),” said Ryan Kelly, Bridj’s marketing manager.

0 Multiple Projects from Boston Properties Progressing

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Boston office development north station

Credit: Boston Herald

Boston Properties is bullish on Boston with projects underway or proposed from Back Bay, Financial District and North Station.

·         888 Boylston has seen the crane arrive and has announced is major tenant Natixis Global Asset Management
·         100 Federal Street is looking to add more retail on the Congress Street side of the project

From the Boston Herald:

“In 2015, we estimate we could move approximately $1 billion in pre-development projects into our active development pipeline,” CEO Owen Thomas said. “Before launching any of these projects, we need to complete the entitlement and planning process and, in most cases, some level of pre-leasing.”