0 Seaport Bridge Closed for Repairs

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Wil Catlin

The Seaport just got harder to get to and from. Not only are there fewer parking spaces, now there is one less pedestrian walkway from the Financial District to the Seaport. The ultimate plan is to reopen the bridge to cars and pedestrian traffic, but no date has been given.

closed bridge in south boston Seaport District

Credit: Boston Herald

A Boston Herald report states “structural conditions and “deterioration beyond repair” prompted the city to close the Old Northern Avenue bridge that serves as a pedestrian link between South Boston’s Seaport District and the Financial District…analysis of the 106-year-old truss bridge’s load capacity by TranSystems, a transportation consultant hired by the city, found 13 floor beams with a “zero-ton rating” in the part of the bridge that was open to pedestrians crossing the Fort Point Channel.”

Additional details are available on the Boston Herald’s website.

0 MassDOT Mulls Move to Roxbury

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Wil Catlin

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (Mass DOT) is looking to make a move from the Transportation Building to Tremont Crossing. Tremont Crossing is located near the Ruggles T Stop and Dudley Square. This move would increase the daytime population by 1,600.

Credit: The Boston Globe

From the Boston Globe:

The state agency’s relocation to Tremont Street, across from the Boston Police Department headquarters, would offer a huge boost to steadily unfolding efforts to revitalize Roxbury. In addition to helping fill parcels that have been vacant for decades, the transportation building would bring thousands of office workers to the neighborhood, at a time when several developments would add dozens of retail stores, several hotels, and hundreds of homes to that section of Roxbury.

MassDOT would occupy up to 800,000 square feet of office space in the project, which would also include a hotel, 300 residences, offices, and 350,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. It would probably take several years for the new transportation building to be constructed.

0 Wanderu Explains Selecting Downtown Crossing HQ (Video)

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Why is Downtown Crossing (DTX) such a hot market? Price, access, infrastructure and vibe. Wanderu chose DTX over all other options in the city because it checked all 4 boxes.

Click over to watch the video on the Boston Business Journal.

0 MA Ranks 3rd for Expected IPO’s in 2015

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Wil Catlin

South Boston office building at 281 Summer St.

Massachusetts ranks 3rd nationally behind California and New York for 2015 IPO’s from Tech Firms.

The BBJ notes, approximately “588 tech companies across the nation are in the IPO pipeline, running roughly equal to the 590 tech firms that were in the pipeline at this time last year, according to a new report by CB Insight…Massachusetts has the third most tech companies in the IPO pipeline: 44…The top Massachusetts companies include Bit9 of Waltham, Actifio of Waltham, Veracode of Burlington, Simplivity of Westboro, and Dataxu of Boston.”

You can read the full article on the Boston Business Journal’s website, here.

0 Perspective on the Boston Real Estate Tax Increase

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Bostinno.Streetwise.co

What are your taxes going up to in Boston? 200 Clarendon Street, The John Hancock Tower, takes the prize with the largest bill at $20,204,640 or $11.51 per square foot. The building last traded 4 years ago for $930,000,000.

To provide some perspective (or piece of mind) on the impending tax hike, Bostinno.streetwise.co posted stats on six notable Boston buildings:

Highest Gross Tax 
• Address: John Hancock Tower, 200 Clarendon St.
• Gross tax: $20,204,640
• Land assessed value: $111,925,200
• Building assessed value: $536,074,800
• Total: $648,000,000
• Land sf.: 73,143
• Year built: 1976
• Year remodeled: 2012
• Gross area: 2,082,040
• Floors: 62
• Owner: BP Hancock LLC
• Zip code: 02116
Continue reading →

0 Boston Real Estate Valued at More than $100B

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Boston is a $100 billion dollar city and the hub’s office tenants will be paying for it. Expect your office lease rates to rise with the new year’s tax bill.

Credit: The Boston Globe

From the Boston Globe:

“With the [Boston] real estate market surging, the total estimated value of its residential and commercial property jumped over that threshold for the first time and has climbed to a total of $110 billion, according to a new city assessment…The increase will mean significantly higher tax bills for many property owners next year, although the extent of those increases will not be known until tax rates are set in the coming days…To stave off sticker shock, the city’s assessing department has already begun reaching out to owners in some neighborhoods where values have increased the most.”

0 45 Milk Street Office Building Leased in Full

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Wil Catlin

office space at 45 milk street in downtown boston

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Year Up is on the move to 45 Milk Street, leasing all 61,000 square feet of the downtown Boston office building.

Context on the area around Milk Street in Boston, from Wikipedia:

“Milk Street was one of Boston’s earliest highways. The name “Milk Street” was given to the street in 1708 due to the milk market at the location. One of the first post offices in Boston was located on the street in 1711, when the first regular postal routes to Maine, Plymouth and New York were established.”

Historical Context on the building, from BostonHistory.org:

“In 1906, noted architect William Gibbons Preston modified his own 1893 design for this building by extending the Milk St. facade to its present location. The allegorical figures of commerce, fidelity, industry and security are by New York artist Max Bachman. The building’s original owner, the International Trust Company, was founded in 1879 and grew to become one of the largest trust companies in New England in the early 20th century.”

Building Stats
• Type: 4 Star Office
• RBA: 68,927 SF
• Stories: 9
• Typical Floor: 7,659 SF
• Class: A
• Construction: Masonry
• Building Ht: 111′
• Year Built: 1893
• Year Renov: 1981
• Tenancy: Multi
• Owner Occup: No
• Elevators: 2
• Slab to Slab: 12′
• Sprinklers: Yes
• Property Mix: Office (61,778 SF, 89.6%), Retail (7,051 SF, 10.2%)

The Building last sold on 6/10/13 for $21,000,000.

0 Boston Mulls Visible Corporate Logos on Buildings

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: NBR

Where should corporate branding start and stop? We have seen the T embrace corporate visibility, moving throughout the city, but do you want to see it on the top of all Boston Buildings? I would be in favor of branding on a case-by-case basis, but not across the board.

Banker & Tradesman reports, “financial services giant State Street Corp. was allowed to hang a high-profile shingle atop its 36-story One Lincoln St. headquarters in 2003 and its One Channel Center office complex that opened this past June in South Boston. So, too, was prized biotech recruit Vertex Pharmaceuticals after it moved from Cambridge to anchor Boston’s Innovation District in 2013, and Converse Inc. as it nears completion of its new headquarters at Lovejoy Wharf.”

B&T also includes a quote from Mayor Walsh, offering his perspective on Boston buildings brandishing corporate logos: “if we’re going to have companies invest significant numbers of people in a particular area and take a large portion of the building, I have no problem with them putting a name on a side of the building.”

0 Office Security a Growing Consideration for Boston Businesses

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: CityMetric

Our world continues to change, and buildings that once didn’t require you to sign in now require a government-issued ID for access. To me, it’s a logical progression; we lock our doors at home and our car doors in parking lots, so we should be similarly clear on who we let into our workplace. People need to feel safe without feeling caged in.

When prospective office users are touring space in Boston, building security and property access is a topic all care about. Some prefer a locked building with key card access only while other prefer a staffed lobby where identification is required.

“In some office towers, clients compared the secure company headquarters in New York City to the Boston satellite office and wondered why there was such an open door in Boston. This comparison prompted some building personnel to needlessly upgrade security and perimeter protection to assuage fears,” according to CityMetric.

In your search for the perfect location and space, be clear on what security and safety measures your coworkers and customers value most.

0 Emerson College Looks to Acquire Transportation Building

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

The state could be looking to sell the Transportation Building to Emerson College. Should the state entertain an open bid process for the asset to ensure it gets top dollar?

From the Boston Globe:

“The school’s president, Lee Pelton cautioned that any deal, if it were to happen, is still at least several years away, and that the college would face competition to buy the space. But for Emerson, known for its communications and performing arts programs, such a move would mark the latest ambitious push to expand its footprint in the dense, pricey, and rapidly evolving neighborhood on the edge of Boston Common.”

“In the past decade, the college has built a pair of facilities and converted several buildings into academic space and student housing. And on Thursday, Emerson announced it will soon start construction on a dorm that had been previously announced. It also is seeking city approval to expand an existing residence hall.”