0 100 Cambridge Street Goes up for Sale

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Looking for an office tower downtown to buy? The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is selling 100 Cambridge Street and looking to capitalize on the high prices that are being paid for Class A buildings around Boston.

Credit: Boston Globe

The building is:
·         22 Stories
·         565,157 Rentable Square Feet
·         Built in 1965
·         Renovated in 2004
·         Typical floor size is 22,255 Rentable Square Feet

Some of the buildings tenants re:
·         Department of Revenue
·         Prince Lobel Tye LLP
·         Miller Wachman LLP
·         Mass General
·         Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company

Marty Jones, chief executive of MassDevelopment, commented in a Boston Globe article that the “state-owned building is not a development opportunity, but she said it should prove attractive to buyers because of steadily rising office rents in downtown Boston. Built in 1965, the tower, formerly known as the Leverett A. Saltonstall Office Building, fell into disrepair and was gutted by MassDevelopment in 1999. The agency added 75 condominiums at the base of the building, along with 25,000 square feet of retail stores.”

You can read the full article on the Boston Globe’s website.

0 Office Market ‘As Good as it Gets’

Posted on October 26, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: CoStar

If you need office space or are looking to expand or renew at your existing location, consider now. The market is clearly in favor of the landlord and is expected to continue in that direction. Investors are reaping the benefits, while tenants are looking for options with competitive rents.

Hans Nordby, managing director of CoStar Portfolio Strategy, described the commercial real estate environment as “the prettiest picture you’re likely to see in this economic cycle. If you’re waiting for ‘as good as it gets,’ it’s probably today in terms of year-over-year office employment growth being so pervasive.”

Boston office tenants absorbed over 350,000 sf of space in the 3rd quarter, lowering vacancy to just over 10 percent. Class A rents rose to $51.80 per SF.

Additional information on the national market are available on CoStar.com.

0 Blackstone Continues to Sell Boston Holdings

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Office building at 125 Summer Street (click for details)

Our city is on the move, and along with it, some noteworthy addresses. 100 High Street and 125 Summer Street are the latest towers to announce that they are under agreement to be sold by Equity Office, Blackstone. The sale is expected to close in September.

The BBJ, reporting on Blackstone’s portfolio activity, notes “the private equity firm, which acquired its Greater Boston property portfolio in 2007 when it bought Equity Office Properties Trust for $39 billion, has reached an agreement to sell five office properties in Greater Boston to a Canadian real estate investment firm. The deal is the latest move by New York-based Blackstone as it disposes of the local real estate portfolio it bought before the financial crisis.”

More information is available on the Boston Business Journal’s coverage, here.

0 212 Stuart Street in Bay Village: Demolition, then Condos

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Stuart street office and retail space in Boston's Bay Village

Credit: Boston Business Journal

What is the status of 212 Stuart Street? It is scheduled to be raised and a new 18-unit condominium building will take its place.

The Boston Business Journal is reporting that “the 10,000-square-foot brick building at 212 Stuart St. will be demolished, beginning today. In an email to its members, the neighborhood group said demolition work is expected to take place over the next eight weeks. The property’s owner, Boston’s Revere Hotel, notified the neighbors this week that it secured the necessary demolition permits from the city’s inspectional services department.”

More information is available on the demolition of 212 Stuart St, jump over to the BBJ’s website.

0 Blackstone’s Boston Commercial Real Estate Portfolio Sells for $2.1B

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Wil Catlin

125 summer street in Boston

Who is your new landlord and should you care? Equity Office, Blackstone, is in the process of selling off assets. The newest to be announced are 100 High Street and 125 Summer Street.

From Banker & Tradesman:

“Private equity giant Blackstone Group will sell five Boston properties to Oxford Properties Group of Toronto for $2.1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The deal comprises 3.2 million square feet of office space, including 100 High St. and 125 Summer St. in Boston…Oxford will jointly purchase three other properties with J.P. Morgan Chase: 60 State St. and 225 Franklin St. in Boston and One Memorial Drive in Cambridge, the Journal reported.”

Additional details on the sale are available on the B&T website.

0 Downtown Crossing Office Space and Residential Markets Both Booming

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Wall Street Journal

This is the hottest office and residential market going and has evolved from one of the seediest. Yes, Downtown Crossing; with great MBTA access and new developments, business are moving in and residential developments are emerging from shuttered buildings.

The Wall Street Journal recently wrote about the developments and high-rises taking over Downtown Crossing, noting, “New luxury developments are transforming Boston’s Downtown Crossing from a neighborhood once called the “Combat Zone” to an enclave of luxury living…The new wave of development is transforming the landscape of Downtown Crossing. The neighborhood’s population increased 44% from 2000 to 2010, compared with a 4.8% rise in Boston’s total population, says the Boston Redevelopment Authority.”

A national view on the transformation of Boston’s Downtown Crossing is available on the WSJ’s website, here.

0 Boston Commercial Real Estate: Rife with Office Space Renovations

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Office building at 230 Congress Street

Landlords in Boston continue to make considerable upgrades to their buildings as part of the ongoing courting process for new tenants. Beacon Capital has continuously made improvements to its Boston assets such as 1 Financial Center, and the newly acquired 230 Congress Street.

Another recent renovation is 177 Huntington Ave., following the departure of Wayfair. A Banker and Tradesman article notes some of the buildings modifications:

“To reposition 177 Huntington for new tenants, Beacon installed new art and signs and LED news strips in the elevator bays. On Monday, Varano Group will open a Caffe Strega breakfast and lunch cafe in the lobby. The owners wanted a name-brand restaurant operator to set the lobby apart, Gratton said.”

0 Boston Office Market Maintains Strong Results for Landlords

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Wil Catlin

155 Federal Street

The Boston Office market continues to produce strong results for landlords. The low rise Class A and Class B market in the Financial District continue to offer a value option to prospective tenants.

According to news site, news.gnom.es, “First quarter 2014 marked Greater Boston’s fourth consecutive quarter of positive absorption. The market also posted its highest four-quarter positive absorption total since 2007, with 3.6 million square feet absorbed from second quarter 2013 through first quarter 2014.”

The article quotes 542,000 SF of positive adsorption in Boston in the First Quarter. You can read the full article, here.

0 Real Estate Advice for Funded Entrepreneurs

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Wil Catlin

My role is to assist companies navigating through their real estate requirements. Many times I hear, “we just closed on our recent round and we can’t commit to a 5 year term lease, we don’t know where we will be in 18 months.” This is so true, part of my process is matching the best landlords with a tenant’s project growth.

Do you know what makes the best landlord for you?

0 Boston Real Estate: How will Marty Walsh Impact Development?

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: The Boston Globe

Will the development pipeline of new construction continue at its current rate, or drop off under the Walsh administration?

An article in the Boston Globe highlighted some of the questions around the Walsh administration, and its potential impact on office development:

It was clear that Walsh’s plainspoken Dorchester demeanor did not always mix easily with some of the business constituencies he must now represent.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or jump over to the full article on the Boston Globe’s website.