One Post Office Sq.
The transfer/sale of assets in the Financial District continues. Time will tell how the transaction was structured, but what is clear Equity Office continue to divest New England Assets.
According to The Real Reporter, “equity Office has agreed to sell its stake at One Post Office Square to partner Morgan Stanley for a price said to exceed $500 million.”
To read the financials and details of the sale, jump over to The Real Reporter article.
Credit: The Boston Globe
The greater Boston area is a mecca for new and innovative ideas that blossom into companies. As decision makers face the multitude of choices from hosting platforms to new staff members, one decision is the culture they would like to offer. Co-working sits at the forefront of that decision.
Some companies with limited staff and resources, cherish the opportunity to be a part of a larger culture, and co-working is the right fit, while other companies prefer to create their own. Something to think about as you head from the basement to the boardroom with your new idea.
Boston.com has taken the time to explore some of the top Boston co-working spaces.
Office tower at 100 Summer St. in Boston’s Financial District
Why are tech tenants looking at the Financial District? Value, access and availability. Currently the Financial District is the only submarket that has it all. Rents within the Class B segment can still be achieved in the mid to upper $30’s PSF while comparable spaces in Back Bay would trade in the mid to upper $40’s PSF.
A Banker & Tradesman article explains the attraction of the Financial District, quoting Ben Heller, a managing director at Jones Lang LaSalle:
“Tenants increasingly view the Innovation District, Fort Point Channel and Financial District interchangeably when scouting office locations…the infill of residential and destination retail is really making an impact on office space there.”
Follow the link to view Boston Financial District office space for lease
(Credit: The Boston Globe)
What are you doing to keep our city clean? Perhaps like me you don’t live in the city but work here. I am proud of the hard work of like-minded citizens to keep our city clean compared to what it was in years past with trash blowing in the streets and graffiti strewn across buildings, block after block. Keeping our city clean is a mindset and a commitment that I support.
A Boston Globe ‘letter’, in response to Jacoby’s “Don’t Trash my City,” reflects on the general cleanliness of the City:
“There is one neighborhood which is remarkably cleaner than ever: downtown Boston. From the edge of Government Center and the Financial District, past Downtown Crossing and the Theatre District, where I live, the area has undergone an amazing transformation. I know that this is thanks to the dozens of hard-working hospitality ambassadors employed by the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District, a privately funded nonprofit on whose advisory council I serve.”
Follow the link to read ‘Don’t Trash my City” on BostonGlobe.com
100 High Street in the Financial District
The Financial District is no longer home to bankers, mutual fund managers and lawyers. The Financial District of today is home to a great cross section of newly funded and well established tech companies. Within our client base we are seeing customers looking for Red Line access for their employees along with space that is competitively priced. Office spaces within the Class B market can range from upper $20’s to low to mid $30’s.
The Boston Business Journal reports, “Cassidy Turley, which represents landlords in lease deals, found that the Financial District’s volume of available Class A space fell to 4.4 million square feet, or 18 percent of total square footage, at the end of June. That’s down 20 percent from a year ago or 4.9 million square feet. It also represents the lowest availability rate for any second quarter since 2008 just prior to Wall Street’s crash.”
To read the full BBJ article, continue on to the Boston Business Journal’s website.
Available Office Space
Commercial Space for lease in Boston Financial District
Credit: Twitter.com @mayortommenino
Should we expect the new mayor of Boston address commercial development differently in the city? YES. We can agree or disagree with Mayor Menino, but change is coming.
The Boston Business Journal alluded to the prospective impact of Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s departure on the Boston real estate market:
“developers are salivating at the prospect that a new mayor will jump-start stalled projects that have been shunned by Mayor Thomas M. Menino…a handful of proposed commercial real estate projects have faced roadblocks at City Hall…But all that could change in January when Menino retires, a move that could also lead to changes at the top of the Boston Redevelopment Authority.”
You can read the full article on the Boston Business Journal’s website.
Commercial real estate in Boston ranks forth in vacancy rates among U.S. office markets.
“According to new data from leading real estate company CB Richard Ellis, vacancy rates fell in 10 out of 13 of America’s largest office markets in the second quarter, with Houston and Boston charging the decline,” an article on ipinglobal.com states.
Credit: ipinglobal
The original article and additional analysis is available on ipinglobal’s website
Photo Credit: Boston.com
How important is reducing your carbon footprint when you are searching for new office space? This question does not come up with all clients that are looking for space, but I would say that most care. Being that they care doesn’t mean they would like to spend more for it; they would be most interested when their green efforts could also reduce the cost to run the building. For example, lower HVAC costs result from better insulation and more efficient building systems.
What is LEED? LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is transforming the way we think about how our buildings and communities are designed, constructed, maintained and operated across the globe. Comprehensive and flexible, LEED is a green building tool that addresses the entire building lifecycle recognizing best-in-class building strategies.
Landlords use LEED Certification to differentiate themselves amongst their peers. Some claim to be the first LEED Gold certification while others claim the most improved say from Silver to Platinum. Massachusetts currently ranks 4th amongst all states with 106 projects certified in 2012 or 13,395,597 square feet.
Boston.com recently noted Grant Thornton’s green considerations in its relocation to the Financial District, “Another benefit of the new office: It is designed to help reduce the firm’s carbon footprint…All workspaces have access to natural light as well as to modern conference and team rooms.”
World Trade Center Boston, 200 Seaport Blvd.
Well, call it what you’d like: Seaport/Innovation/Fort Point; the reality is the area has blossomed for a myriad companies. Since the sale of the Boston Wharf portfolio we have seen a steady influx of capital to renovate old, tired buildings that had roof leaks, failing windows, and inoperable elevators. The addition of the Turnpike exit and the convention center has added to the core infrastructure that’s helping to accommodate the demand for office space and housing. In the past 30 months, rents in Class B buildings have increased from the upper $20’s to the low $40’s PSF.
Banker & Tradesman recently explored the roots, and validity, of the waterfront’s building ‘boom’:
“with Menino riding into the sunset, it’s high time to find out whether the so-called waterfront building boom is real or instead government-driven at the behest of one of the nation’s most powerful big city mayors.”
B&T’s complete article is available here
Rendering of the mixed-use Fenway Center Project; image courtesy of The Boston Globe
The view from the Turnpike heading into Boston has cleared its final hurdle. Fenway Center, the vision of Jon Rosenthal will become a reality with construction expected to commence in 2014.
The Boston Globe reports, “State Department of Transportation directors approved a lease covering 4.5 acres of land and air rights over the Massachusetts Turnpike, a key agreement for the development.”
The full article is available on The Boston Globe website