Credit: The Boston Globe
Are you in favor or opposed of tax relief for construction projects? A Boston Globe editorial addressed the issue of added tax relief for construction projects, noting “the developer of Boston’s ambitious Fenway Center development is seeking $7.8 million in city tax breaks to proceed with construction, saying the $500 million mega-project could fall apart without urgent public assistance.”
The full Globe article, available here, further explores the issue.
Credit: Bisnow.com
Changes are coming to Copley Place, a 52-story tower to house rental apartments and condos. Currently there is no change to the existing office towers.
Bisnow is reporting that “Simon Property Groups $500M expansion of Copley Place–is advancing with the recent city approval of its revised plan to add rental apartments to the residential mix…Simon will build 433 rental apartments and 109 condos instead of 318 condos in the 625-foot, 52-story tower.”
Additional details are available online, here.
Related Property Listings
Copley Office Space for Lease
Boston is on the move and the migration of tenants downtown continues. Rents continue to rise while vacancy continues to drop; that signals a recovery. The next piece that is on the forefront is speculative construction, which usually appears when vacancy drops below 10 percent.
The World Property Channel, quoting figures from Jones Lang LaSalle, notes that “high employment in the high-tech sector and life sciences are the industry’s major drivers in the region’s recovery, growing at 9.8 percent and 5.0 percent year-over-year, respectively.”
Additional figures are available on the World Property Channel website.
Related Commercial Real Estate Listings
Boston Office Space for Lease
Photo Credit: Boston Herald
Will the Financial District be home to a new office tower? There is some speculation that the headquarters of Fidelity will be raised to make way for new construction.
Banker & Tradesman is reporting, “the real estate arm of Boston-based Fidelity Investments is putting four Boston office properties and a small land parcel in the city’s Financial District on the shopping block. The contiguous block of assets totals 343,000 square feet of space and includes 82 and 68 Devonshire St., 19 and 15 Congress St., and the land parcel at 54 Devonshire St.”
Details on the potential redevelopment site are available on the Banker & Tradesman website.
Related Area Info
Office Space in Boston Seaport District
Boston Financial District Real Estate
Photo Credit: Boston Business Journal
Another office building trade has occurred in Back Bay. This sale falls outside of what we have seen in the recent past by investors, this in an owner occupant as well as an expanding college.
The Boston Business Journal reports that Fisher College has purchased 10-11 Arlington St. for $11.7 million. The article contends the building “will be able to provide offices for faculty and staff, as well as additional services and resources to its students.”
For more information on the specifics of the purchase of 10-11 Arlington Street, follow this link to the Boston Business Journal.
Photo Credit: Boston Business Journal
Nine new Boston development projects are scheduled to open in 2013 and the calendar is filling up with 2014 openings as well. Our city landscape is changing with new residential communities and office buildings.
The Boston Business Journal posted a preview of the upcoming buildings in a slide show, here.
Photo: courtesy of Jones Lang LaSalle via Boston Business Journal
Another Class B Financial District office building is said to have traded hands; 2 Liberty has reportedly been acquired by Urdang.
Coverage on the Boston Business Journal offers the following background on the building:
“Built in 1913, the 64,357-square-foot boutique office building was designed in the Beaux Arts style by Peabody & Stearns. It was renovated in the 1990s and combines historical architecture with modern infrastructure. It is located near Post Office Square, Faneuil Hall Marketplace and the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. The property is 81 percent occupied with nine tenants, according to brokers.”
Another Class B Financial District assets is said to trade hands; 11 Beacon is reported to go the Synergy Investments. The Class B market continues to see trades along with increasing rents; currently B product is pricing in the upper $20’s too low to mid $30’s depending on location and improvement package. According to CoStar the vacancy rate for Class B in the Financial District is 11.9 percent as of 12/31/12.
This pdf created by TheRealReporter.com offers details on the Class B office transactions.
Boston’s commercial real estate skyline will continue to change during 2013, with the debt market still eager to loan. Mixed-use projects are on the front burner as demand for services continues.
A recent Banker & Tradesman reader survey reports that, “more than 42 percent of developers and commercial construction professionals [that responded to the survey]…said laboratory and healthcare projects will likely be built this year. More than 50 percent said they expect financing to be available at reasonable terms for multifamily apartment construction.”
The complete commercial real estate survey is available Banker & Tradesman website.
Alternatively, follow the link to view available office space in Boston, or Cambridge.
DivcoWest adds four buildings to its Boston assets with a combined size in excess of 3 million square feet.
According to a report in Banker & Tradesman, “the properties were acquired for DivcoWest Fund III, an $870 million fund raised last year. The properties were purchased from a fund controlled by New York-based Brickman Real Estate. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition brings DivcoWest’s total holdings in the Boston Area to more than 3 million square feet of commercial property assets.”
Click through to read the full editorial on Banker & Tradesman’s web site.