0 Multiple Projects from Boston Properties Progressing

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Wil Catlin

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.”

0 Epstein’s Instructive Strategy for Transforming Downtown Boston

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: bisnow

Bob Epstein can teach us a few things about remaking duds into destinations. Lafayette Center was that dud that wasn’t getting any airtime from prospective tenants, despite location, large floor plates and infrastructure.

“At Lafayette City Center, they also saw a property with ‘good bones and upside potential. It has high, 14-foot to 17-foot ceilings, expansive column spacing of 30 feet by 36 feet and big windows. As the downtown vacancy rate falls, rents are rising but Downtown Crossing is reasonably priced, Tom tells us. Its rents in the high $30s/SF to $40s/SF compare well to Back Bay rents in the $50s/SF and Cambridge hitting the $60s/SF. Downtown Crossing is still a value play. But back in 2002, Abbey Group saw that it—like Fenway in the ‘90s and Back Bay in the ‘70s—was undervalued,” according to a Bisnow editorial.

The full Bisnow article is available on its website.

0 Boston Tops US in CMBS Loans

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Wil Catlin

745 Boylston Street office building in Boston

Office Building at 745 Boylston Street in Copley Sq.

Boston leads New York, D.C., Chicago and L.A. not only in the bid for the 2024 Olympics, but also for CMBS loans.

The Boston Business Journal is reporting the “percentage of Boston-area commercial mortgage backed security real estate loans with late payments is its lowest in months and is among the best in the country, according to new data from real estate information provider Trepp,,,According to Trepp, 2.84 percent of Boston-area CMBS loans were 30 days delinquent or more as of the end of November. A year ago, the rate was 4.02 percent. The decline has been more or less steady, with slight increases a few months…The Boston-area compares especially well with other major U.S markets.

You can find more information on the BBJ’s website.

0 Technology is Transforming Boston Commercial Real Estate

Posted on January 18, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: analyticsweek.com

The commercial real estate industry has truly benefited from technology. I entered the industry in 2002 and from then to now is dramatically different; today I can walk down the street, open my tablet and find out what space on what floor is available in any commercial building. This was unheard of 5 years ago and only gets better with version updates of various apps. Not to mention the infusion of data, real-time analytics, and crowdfunding.

The BBJ notes “while data can’t predict the future just yet, big data can tell us the probability of future decisions, which can lead to actionable decision-making.” The article also mentions the benefit to “accredited and non-accredited investors, through a multitude of platforms, have the ability to invest in early-stage companies. What this means for commercial real estate is that everyone’s customer base broadens as fractional “ownership” increases. It also results in more capital outlets and providers for a more competitive landscape.”

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

0 How Do You Feel about Office Beacons?

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: OfficeBeacon.com

Does your office use beacons like Digitas to figure out your movement with the office?

From Digiday:

“DigitasLBi…has installed 120 beacons — devices that communicate with nearby smartphones via Bluetooth technology — in its Boston office in order to identify how and where its employees congregate. The goal is to learn how to improve office design and meeting scheduling.

‘the most immediate goal…was to use data collected from the beacons to establish a baseline for how the office’s 700 employees currently meet with one another.'”

Does this sound like a model for efficiency or will it yield a new mode of employee resentment?

0 Seasoned Fort Point Landlords Ready to Cash Out

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Wil Catlin

The Seaport is for sale! The landlord’s that have participated in the lease of up to 3.7 million square feet of new tenant space since 2010, are looking to cash out and move onto new opportunities. Class B rents have surpassed the $40.00 per square foot mark on Summer Street.

Boston's fort-point neighborhood in the downtown Seaport district

Credit: cityofboston.gov

Banker and Tradesman points out that “nearly 750,000 square feet of office space is currently on the market, or nearly one-fifth of the neighborhood’s office inventory. The six properties include the Thomson Reuters office portfolio, an assemblage of 10 buildings containing 414,000 square feet of brick-and-beam space.The transactions will go a long way toward determining whether Fort Point can retain its status as an Innovation District, or whether rents set by the new owners will force startups to look elsewhere.”

Additional information on the transformative Fort Point neighborhood is available on B&T’s website.

0 Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market: Marked for an Overhaul

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Faneuil hall and quicy market in downtown boston

Credit: ABCNews

Faneuil Hall is set for change. Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp will be looking to convert some of the office space to a boutique hotel in the South Market Building.

From ABCNews:

“Quincy Market, the granite-columned marketplace just behind red-brick Faneuil Hall, is part of one of the world’s top tourist destinations, attracting visitors seeking a taste of revolutionary history and a cup of New England clam chowder…after four decades, the market’s operator says Quincy Market — along with the two brick buildings along either side that house office space and retail chains — is past due for an overhaul.”

“Among its early plans are transforming existing office space in the South Market building into a new, 180-room boutique hotel; installing the Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo on the top floor of Quincy Market; and redesigning the building’s crowded food court with more open space, sit-down restaurants and, possibly, moveable bars. Along the marketplace’s familiar cobblestone paths, the company wants to possibly introduce ping pong tables, shuffleboard and performance spaces for live music and poetry and book readings.“

0 Defining Boston’s Seaport District

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

The Seaport, formerly known as the South Boston Waterfront has not only evolved, but arrived. Interestingly it is not as clearly defined geographically as one might think. One border is the Fort Point Channel and another is Boston Harbor. Beyond that, it is up to some interpretation.

According to CoStar, the border continues to West 2nd Street and East 2nd Street. The core of the Seaport in my opinion consists of: Summer Street, Congress Street and Seaport Boulevard and the various intersecting streets. The Boston Design Center, Convention Center and Wormwood Street would also be included.

The Boston Business Journal quantifies the growth, noting, the Seaport District “already has a population bigger than Beacon Hill’s, and more radical change is on the short-term horizon. Some of the region’s most experienced developers are pushing forward projects that within three years should create more than 2,500 housing units. City planners see another doubling in housing stock, to 10,000 units, by 2030.

0 Strong Demand Keeps Boston Office Rents Rising

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Office Building in Demand: 121 High Street in Boston’s financial district (click for property details)

Today there are fewer options for office tenants to occupy, along with with increased office rents. Combine this with additional tenant improvement dollars that have been pushed downward, and free rent has become obsolete. What does that mean? We are in the midst of a landlord market.

From The Boston Globe:

“Strong growth of technology and financial companies is increasing office rents across the region and fueling proposals for new office buildings from Route 128 to Cambridge and downtown Boston…In Boston, rents for top-rated space ticked up to $51.79. That represents only a slight increase from last year, but several large companies have recently committed to leasing new space in the city, including Natixis Global Asset Management and Sonos Inc., a wireless speaker maker.”

“’A lot of younger workers want to be in the city, and that’s very clearly driving companies’ decisions,’ said Bob Richards, a partner at Transwestern RBJ. ‘That trend is definitely deepening.’”

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.