Category Archives: Boston Commercial Buildings

0 Mass Jobless Rate Dips to 15-Year Low

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commercial development in Boston

Credit: Bizjournals

“Make it in Massachusetts”  Our economy is strong, companies are hiring, and we have achieved a new low; the lowest unemployment rate since 2001.

According to the BBJ, “Massachusetts’ total unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent in August from the previous month’s 4.1 percent — a new low that hasn’t been seen since 2001 — according to the state…Preliminary estimates showed the state gained 5,900 jobs over the month, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported.”

Further details are available on the Boston Business Journal’s website, here.

0 177 Huntington Ave. Goes Up for Sale

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Office building for sale at 177 Huntington Ave in Boston

Photo Credit: The Real Reporter

177 Huntington moves to the sale block from Beacon Capital. The building anchors the First Church of Christ plaza and has become a destination for boutique Class A tenants.

From The Real Reporter:

Acquired under a 99-year ground lease almost four years ago, the 26-story, 206,625-sf building should yield “way over” $700 per sf by one account, possibly eclipsing $725 per sf by other sources.

Observers say they anticipate 177 Huntington Ave. will draw from a wide geography of heavy hitters…One factor likely mitigating the 177 Huntington Ave. mark in that area is the leasehold structure of ownership, a format certain funds are unable to pursue. Either way, it appears Beacon is in line for a hefty return on the asset.

0 What 10M Driverless Cars by 2020 Means for Real Estate Development

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Driverless car rendering

Credit: TheRealReporter

Boston will change significantly with the introduction of driverless cars. Do you expect to own a Level 4 driverless car in the next 10 years?

According to The Real Reporter, “Level 4 cars park themselves, they don’t need nearly the space for error as humans do, and don’t need space for passengers to exit from the sides. As landlords’ see their tenants’ workers go increasingly autonomous, it may make sense to proactively create areas or structures to more efficiently offer car storage than the traditional 150 space per acre parking lot…The autonomous revolution may quickly lead to a car-share model. This could rapidly change industry parking ratios –freeing land, in some cases, for more development!”

You can read more on the real estate impact of driverless cars on The Real Reporter, here.

0 Developers Move to Luxury to Offset Escalating Labor Cost

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Construction laborers work on an office building in Boston

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Due to the great recession we have fewer skilled labor working in the construction trade industry and as a result that cost has increased significantly. On a sampling of construction projects, the cost of labor could account for 40 – 60 percent of the overall project cost.

According to Bizjournals, “the result is a shortage in the supply of skilled labor in the building trades, a trend that’s enabled everyone from mechanical contractors to steel manufacturers to punch their ticket when it comes to selecting the most attractive jobs at the most competitive rates. That in turn is turbo-charging the cost of construction and, in turn, a preference among developers to favor big, luxury projects to better recoup their costs and lock in attractive returns.”

Additional information is available on the BBJ’s website.

0 Hancock Tower Remains Largely Unoccupied

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Hancock Tower in back bay

Credit: Boston Globe

New England’s tallest building has space for you. The tower has approximately 450,000 square feet available for lease.

From the Boston Globe:

About one-fourth of the space in 200 Clarendon — or what most of us still call the John Hancock Tower — is sitting vacant after leases expired and tenants such as John Hancock moved to new digs. Landlord Boston Properties Inc. acknowledged Wednesday that efforts to fill it have been going “a little bit slow.”

Rents at the top of the tower run $70 to $80 per square foot — among the priciest in town. Boston Properties has given no sign it plans to offer discounts to fill 450,000 vacant square feet. Still, the slowdown reflects a bit of a softening at the very top of Boston’s market. Real estate brokers say law firms, financiers, and others who seek trophy office space are pushing back against building owners who want to hike rents.

You can read the full Globe article, here.

0 Boston to host 2017 U.S.-China Climate Summit

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Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Secretary of State John F. Kerry meet with Chinese representatives

Credit: Boston Globe

Boston is home to long-haul, nonstop daily flights to Shanghai and Beijing.  In addition, Boston will host the U.S. / China Climate summit in 2017.

From the Boston Business Journal:

“I am honored to announce that Boston will build on our global climate leadership to host next year’s U.S.-China Climate Leaders’ Summit,” said [Boston Mayor Marty] Walsh in a statement. “There is no more pressing, or defining, global challenge than climate change. We know we must be making investments now to create a more sustainable future for the world we share. I look forward to continuing these substantive, challenging conversations in Boston.”

The first summit occurred last September in Los Angeles and included a keynote address by Vice President Joe Biden and China’s State Councilor Yang Jiechi as well as the signing by 24 state and local leaders of a first-of-its-kind “U.S.-China Climate Leaders Declaration.”