0 Law firm to move out of One Post Office Square, citing renovation work

The biggest isn’t always the best.  Fortunately, Boston is chock-full of great work space. What strategies are you solving for & how can we help?

Law firm to move out of One Post Office Square, citing renovation work

One Post Office Square in Boston.
W. MARC BERNSAU

By   – Law and Money Reporter, Boston Business Journal 

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP plans to move its Boston office to One Financial Center next year, in part to avoid the disruption caused by construction in its current home at One Post Office Square, according to its local managing partner.

The South Carolina-based law firm is taking approximately 43,000 square feet on the 35th and 36th floors of One Financial, the office tower across Atlantic Avenue from South Station, said Peter Haley, the firm’s leader in Boston.

It’s about the same amount of space that it currently occupies at One Post Office Square, where it’s been for most of the decade-plus it’s been in the Boston market. But the Post Office Square building is undergoing a major renovation, including a new-look glass exterior, a large-scale interior makeover, and a significant expansion of rentable space. The project is being co-developed by JLL and Anchorline Partners.

According to Haley, had Nelson Mullins stayed in Post Office Square, it would have needed to move at least once, and perhaps twice, within the building over the short term to accommodate the makeover. The firm’s leaders were wary of that level of disruption. JLL “was great” about trying to find a solution, but the firm “couldn’t quite find something that was right for us,” Haley said.

Nelson Mullins expects to move into One Financial in 2020, potentially in August. Haley anticipates the new space will have about 65 offices, with a more efficient, glass-filled floor plan compared to its current location.

The law firm’s local headcount has changed significantly in recent years. In early 2015, it had 60 attorneys in Boston, but by the next year that figure had dropped to 35 after teams of attorneys left for K&L Gates LLP and LeClairRyan PC.

Since then, however, Haley and the firm’s leadership have been aggressive about wooing partners from other Boston law offices. Its local headcount is back up to 53, according to Haley. The new recruits hail from a variety of firms and practice areas: This year alone, its additions include intellectual property attorneys from Pepper Hamilton LLP and Mintz and a litigator from State Street Corp.

“We’ve had a nice ability to attract lawyers from around the city,” Haley said.

That level of growth is reflected in the firm’s recent financials. In 2014, its $298 million in revenue put it outside the 100 highest-grossing law firms in the U.S., according to American Lawyer Media data. In 2018, it grossed more than $400 million across its more than 20 offices, earning it a ranking as No. 87 in the country.

The new address and new names aren’t the only changes coming to Nelson Mullins. Later this month, Haley is stepping down as office managing partner in favor of his colleague, Brian Moore. Haley has been the office’s leader since 2013 and felt a change in leadership would be good for the future of the firm. He plans to return to his practice full-time, although he will hold onto some managerial responsibilities at the firmwide level.

“The turnover’s very helpful in terms of developing and building leadership within the office,” he said. “Just having one person staying there for 10 or 15 years, I think you miss out on opportunities to build future leaders.”

0 Empty store space in Downtown Crossing may become offices

Does the Amazon effect play into retail vacancy in Boston?  We, in short yes.  How we shop and what we shop for online has changed and will continue to do so.  Retail is still vibrant and strong, but not all retail spaces are created equal.  Some historical retails spaces are better suited for office which in part has to do their size and proximity to public transit.

An example of this transformation is the Cambridge Side Galleria Mall in the East Cambridge.  The red hot Kendal office and lab market will continue to gobble up under performing assets.

An empty storefront near 560 Washington St.

By Tim Logan GLOBE STAFF  APRIL 12, 2019

One of the biggest retail spaces in Downtown Crossing may soon become home to offices.

The Boston Planning & Development Agency on Thursday approved plans by the owner of Lafayette City Center to convert much of its long-empty ground floor into office space, perhaps to house the state agency that handles workers’ compensation claims.

The move by veteran Boston developers The Abbey Group highlights the soft market for large-format retailers as they face mounting online competition. The change also has something to do with the particular quirks of the building, which was built in the 1980s as the inward-facing Lafayette Place Mall before being repositioned as storefronts with office space above.

The proposed change also is raising concerns in some quarters about a block and a half of Washington Street in the busy shopping district being converted to office space.

Much of the building’s ground floor — about 75,000 square feet — has been empty for at least 15 years. The last sizable tenant, an Eddie Bauer outlet store, closed in early 2016. Abbey and its brokers have struggled to fill the space. Among other challenges, the first floor is as much as 7 feet higher than street level in places — a design quirk of the old indoor mall and its underground garage.

“We think of ourselves as creative developers who apply innovative thinking to problems like this,” Abbey chief operating officer David Epstein said. “It simply isn’t feasible” to use the space for retail, he said.

 

But Abbey has leased more than 500,000 square feet of office space on the floors above street level, mostly to tech companies. When the state began looking for 33,700 square feet to house its Division of Industrial Accidents — which needs to move out of the Government Center Garage ahead of a redevelopment there — Abbey offered up the ground floor.

A spokesman for the state’s real estate agency said it received five proposals for the office, including Lafayette Center. A final decision has not been made, he said.

Workers’ compensation courtrooms may not be the sort of retail and restaurant Downtown Crossing is known for, but it fits with other legal offices around the neighborhood, said Rosemarie Sansone, president of the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District.

“This place has been empty for 20 years,” she said. “They found an unusual and interesting use for it. This is all good.”

Still, the shift comes as several key locations sit empty along Washington Street, from Lafayette Center to the long-shuttered Barnes & Noble (which is now being renovated by a new owner) to a cluster of empty storefronts at Washington and Bromfield streets that have been largely dark since plans to build a skyscraper there stalled in 2016.

Sansone acknowledged the empty buildings but also noted that several restaurants and stores have opened in and around Downtown Crossing in recent years. Building owners and the BID, she said, are aiming to bring in more retailers to cater to residents and workers who fill nearby office towers, including a day care center, pet stores, and more home goods stores. She also said Trader Joe’s is considering opening a grocery store in the neighborhood, though a Trader Joe’s spokeswoman would not confirm that.

 

Some landlords on Washington Street, Sansone said, are being patient, waiting for the right tenant.

“There have been some deliberate attempts to make sure that whatever comes is going to be successful, that it’s what people want,” she said.

One BPDA board member Thursday asked Epstein about the wisdom of leaving retail space like Lafayette Center vacant for years, especially given the effect on foot traffic for neighboring businesses.

“It’s a form of job destruction,” Carol Downs said. “I don’t really understand why this space was let to stay empty for so long.”

Epstein said the market has shifted away from the larger-format retailers it originally envisioned would lease at Lafayette City Center, and the technical challenges of opening in the building were too great for smaller stores. Filling two-thirds of the long empty storefront with office workers will bring foot traffic and, he hopes, will make it easier to rent the rest of the vacant space.

“We’re excited about the prospect,” Epstein said.

Tim Logan can be reached at tim.logan@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @bytimlogan.

0 Boston Real Estate Developers are Building ‘on spec’ Office Space

Cambridge Crossing at 250 North Street

Credit: Boston Globe

If we build it they will come. This is not the mind set of all owners; those willing to make that bet, however, have been rewarded with new tenants. Only four buildings in Boston can deliver over 150K SF today, while eight proposed buildings can deliver sometime in the future.

According to the Boston Globe, “speculative building has [traditionally] been a rare and risky move in Boston’s relatively conservative development sector. Office builders typically don’t move dirt until they have leased at least half the space they’re planning. It’s a cautious approach that has protected Boston’s office market against the types of booms and busts that some other cities have experienced, but it’s also one reason the current building surge has mostly centered on housing. Now, with growing tech-oriented companies such as Wayfair and Amazon searching for large blocks of space — and finding few — more developers are mulling a roll of the dice…Rather than sign a lease and then embark on a three-year construction project…developers are considering jumping the line.

You can read the Boston Globe’s article, here.

0 Leather District Redevelopment Might be on the Horizon

Leather District real estate

Credit: B&T

Change could be coming to the Leather District in the form of development.

From Banker and Tradesman:

125 Lincoln St. includes office space on the top floor…The property, occupying an entire block in the transforming Leather District, could be suitable for a mixed-use redevelopment, said Matthew Pullen, an executive managing director for NGKF. Current zoning allows up to 223,880 square feet of development on the site.

The property is 100 percent leased and generates net operating income of $2 million. Leases have landlord termination options that would enable a redevelopment to begin as early as 2018, according to marketing materials.

0 Boston Leather District Adds Smartsheet

The Leather District section of Boston will be the new East Coast office for 140 employees of Smartsheet.

From Smartsheet:

“Our expansion to the east coast is a direct reflection of the tremendous demand we’re seeing in cloud collaboration,” said Mark Mader, CEO of Smartsheet. “Building out a world-class team in Boston’s vibrant tech hub is a critical part of serving both U.S. and international customers.”

Consistently recognized as a great place to work, Smartsheet was featured as a “Highest Rated Private Cloud Company to Work For” in a new list by Battery Ventures and Glassdoor released in August 2016. Employee reviews on Glassdoor also praise the passionate and accessible senior leadership, work-life balance, amazing company culture, belief in the product and top-notch talent.

0 Available Office Space in Back Bay: 745 Boylston Street

Back bay office building

745 Boylston Street in Boston’s Back Bay

Boston Realty Advisors has been retained by Upland Capital to exclusively represent 745 Boston Street in Boston’s Back Bay. The building is a 112,000 square foot 8 story building with Verizon and Max Brenner as the retail tenants.

The building currently has just over 18,000 square feet available and can accommodate tenants from 1,700 – 12,000.

Building Details
• 745 Boylston Street Back Bay
• Property Brochure
• Floor plan

 

0 MA unemployment rate dips under 3%

Boston Statehouse

Credit: BBJ

Massachusetts unemployment hits a new record low for the century. Our economy is growing and adding jobs in all sectors.

According to a BBJ editorial, “the Bay State’s unemployment rate dropped to 2.9 percent in November, marking the first time it has dipped below 3 percent since the beginning of the century…Massachusetts added a net of 5,800 jobs last month, with the government leading the way by creating 3,800 new positions, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said Thursday. Three other sectors — construction, financial activities, and professional, scientific and business services — each added 1,000 jobs or more.”

Additional information is available on the Boston Business Journal’s website, here.

0 Breather Moves to Expand its On-Demand Workspaces

Breather co-working office space

Credit: Techvibes

Breather is on an aggressive growth mode with a closing on a $40 million dollar round led by Menlo Venture in participation with Valar Ventures, RRE Ventures, Slow Ventures and Real Ventures. The team of Justin Harlow, Bonny Doorakian, Robert LeClair and Wil Catlin is handling their Boston expansion.

From Techvibes:

“Breather has tapped into a real need in the workplace. There hasn’t been a company of its kind offering spaces on-demand,” said Venky Ganesan, Managing Director of Menlo Ventures. “Breather has a tremendous vision to connect the world’s spaces and make them accessible to all.”

Breather has no membership fees or long-term contracts. Instead, the company offers workspaces on a pay-per-use basis through the company’s proprietary app.

0 Boston City Hall Plaza to Unveil Skating, Winter Shops

Sketch of City Hall skating rink Boston

Credit: Boston Globe

Boston’s City Hall Plaza is going to get decked out for the holidays. This is a brand new venue for Boston to attract families and tourists.

From the Boston Globe:

Sponsored by Berkshire Bank, the winter-garden-like program will include an outdoor ice-skating path, a 20-foot Christmas tree with lights that will be powered by stationary bicycles and more than 40 boutique “chalets” featuring wares from local vendors such as the Grommet, LovePop, Etsy Artists of Boston, and Boston Olive Oil Co.

There will also be an Urban Lodge, a riff on a ski lodge where shoppers and skaters can come in from the cold and lounge with some beer, wine, or hot chocolate.

The holiday vendors will be at the winter garden through Dec. 31. The ice rink, which will feature skating lessons and other events, will be available through February.

0 Massachusetts Named ‘Most Innovative economy’

Office buildings in Fenway

Credit: Boston Business Journal

According to the smart folks on the left coast, Massachusetts earned the top spot for startups in the country.

From the BBJ:

Massachusetts took the No. 1 spot yet again on a biennial innovation report from an influential California-based economic development think tank.

The ranking, released Oct. 24, “endeavors to benchmark states on their science and technology capabilities and broader commercialization ecosystems that contribute to company growth, high-value-added job creation, and overall economic growth.”

You can read the full article on the Boston Business Journal.