Category Archives: Boston Commercial Real Estate

0 Energy Disclosure Ordinance Passed in Boston

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10 St. James avenue in Boston, MAWhen you are deciding on moving your office, how important is the building’s energy consumption?  Mayor Menino’s new reporting and disclosure ordinance will require all buildings over 35K RSF to report their numbers.

Banker & Tradesman reports, “the ordinance, which will cover approximately 1,600 buildings in Boston, requires all commercial buildings over 35,000 square feet and all residential buildings over 35 units to annually report whole-building energy and water use. The ordinance is a component of the city’s Climate Action Plan to meet Menino’s greenhouse gas reduction goals.”

The complete B&T article can be found, here.

You can also read the City’s Climate Action Plan on the City of Boston website.

0 Boston Office Vacancy Rate Dips Below 13% in 1st Quarter

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Office building at 1 Federal St. in Boston's financial district

1 Federal St., Boston

The vacancy rate for office space in Boston has dropped just below 13 percent. This according to an article posted on Banker & Tradesman late last week. B&T states, “the vacancy rate for the Greater Boston office and R&D market decreased from 17 percent to 16.9 percent during the quarter and select properties are beginning to recognize rent increases, according to a report from Colliers International focusing on the first quarter of this year.”

To view available office space for lease in the Greater Boston area, follow this link to our property listings.

0 Seaport Towers Planned

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Rendering of the building footprint for Boston seaport towers

Photo Credit: Elkus Manfredi Architects (via Boston Globe)

The Boston Seaport, one of the hottest office markets nationally, continues its transformation with plans to build a pair of 22-story towers on Seaport Boulevard.

The Boston Globe posted an article earlier this morning, revealing, “a deal is emerging to build one of the South Boston Waterfront’s largest developments: a pair of 22-story towers on Seaport Boulevard that would include up to 800 apartments and a 300,000-square-foot retail and entertainment complex. The towers would be among the first major buildings at the long-planned Seaport Square project, a 23-acre complex that would eventually replace the district’s sea of parking lots with residences, office buildings, stores, restaurants, and public parks.”

The Boston Globe’s website offers additional details on the Seaport Square Project.

Related Office Space Listings
Boston Seaport Commercial Real Estate

0 40 Broad Street Under Agreement

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40 Broad Street office building in the Boston Financial District

Photo Credit: Boston Business Journal

The Class B office market continues to see trades within the Financial District; 40 Broad will be traded for $378 PSF. The Financial District has seen tremendous absorption over the last 4 quarters within the Class A low and mid-rise space and Class B assets. Current vacancy is just below 10 percent overall.

“Located on a city block near the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, the largest tenant is advertising agency Mullen Communications which leases 105,000 square feet. About 25,000 square feet is available on the seventh floor, and nearly 12,000 square feet of retail space is available at Broad and Milk streets,” reports Thomas Grillo, real estate editor at the Boston Business Journal.

Follow the link to read the full BBJ coverage of the sale of 40 Broad St.

Related Real Estate Listings
Boston Financial District Office Space for Lease

0 Boston Office Rents Climbing

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101 Arch street office building in Boston's financial district

Office Building at 101 Arch St, Boston

The Boston office market continues to see a reduction in vacancy alongside increased pricing.

A Boston Business Journal article specifies, “every Boston submarket with the exception of the Back Bay saw the vacancy rate fall as tenants leased 1.2 million square feet of office space from January through March with 354,457 square feet getting absorbed. Citywide, the overall vacancy rate dropped to 10.3 percent in the first quarter, down from 12.6 percent a year ago.”

For additional details and submarket specifics, head over to the BBJ online.

Related Commercial Real Estate Listings
Boston Office Space Available for Rent

0 Surveillance Cameras in Demand After Boston Attack

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1 Washington Mall, Boston MAAs a society we are living in changing times that for me is hard to imagine, specifically I am referring to the events of April 15th during the Boston Marathon. Our city was on the worldwide stage for those events along with an abundance of images and video, begging the question, do we have too much or not enough video surveillance? The Financial District is comprised of 272 buildings and 42,322, 270 RSF, with nearly 240 public and private cameras, according to CoStar.  Is that too much or not enough?

A Business Week editorial notes, “a pedestrian who strolls through Boston’s Financial District, an area of about 40 city blocks, can be seen by at least 233 private and public cameras. In the aftermath of the terrorist bombing there on April 15, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis wants even more cameras to boost street-level surveillance, said spokeswoman Cheryl Fiandaca. Other cities, too, now may be spurred to expand their systems, which security specialists said will fuel sales growth in the $3.2 billion video surveillance industry.”

For additional information on the growing demand for video monitoring, jump over to Business Week.

0 Boston Buildings Rank High for Energy Conservation

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JFK building in Boston

Photo Credit: Boston Business Journal

The Commonwealth ranks high among its peers nationally for energy conservation.

According to a Boston Business Journal report, two Bay State buildings, the JFK Building in Boston, and the J.C. Penney in Peabody, stood above its competition in terms of energy conservation.

The BBJ details the criteria, “competitors tracked their building’s monthly energy consumption using EPA’s online energy tracking tool. Energy use reductions for each top finisher were verified. Energy use in commercial buildings accounts for nearly 20 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of more than $100 billion per year.”

To read more about the JFK Building and the J.C. Penney that earned the green accolades, jump over to the BBJ online.

0 Construction to Begin on ‘Ink Block’

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Graphic rendering of the Ink Block in Boston's South End

Photo Credit: Elkus Manfredi (via BBJ)

Ink Block is on the move and the transformation of the Herald’s HQ will commence later this year.

The Boston Business Journal reports on the construction, noting the Ink Block is “designed to re-imagine the former Herald site in the South End at Harrison Avenue and Traveler Street, Ink Block will feature 475 apartments in five buildings and 85,000 square feet of retail space, including a flagship 50,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market, which will be the chain’s largest location in Boston and the first-ever full-size grocery store in the South End.”

For additional information on the former Boston Herald HQ, jump over to the BBJ’s full article.

0 Boston Commercial Real Estate Market Going Strong

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Office building at 1 Brattle Sq. in Cambridge, MaMultiple media outlets and commercial real estate firms are saying the same thing; the office market has made up for recession losses. This is primarily attributed to the following: financial, life sciences, technology, biomedical and engineering firms.

A Boston Herald editorial delves into the numbers further:

“The first quarter started with strong leasing activity in several sectors, from financial to life sciences, technology, biomedical and engineering firms. The vacancy rate in Greater Boston dipped below 15 percent for the second quarter in a row, yet spiked 27 basis points because of a number of spaces that were known to be coming to the market, including Monitor’s 196,000 square feet at 2 Canal Park in Cambridge and IBM’s building at 5 Technology Park in Westford.”

Follow the link to read the full article on BostonHerald.com.

Related Commercial Real Estate Listings
Available Office Space for lease in Cambridge, Boston

0 Boston Commercial Market Shows Full Recovery

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office space at 10 Langley Place in Newton MaThe recovery is well underway which is evident by the downtown vacancy rate dropping below 10 percent.

According to a Banker & Tradesman article, referencing  a Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) report on commercial leasing, “Boston is officially in growth mode and has exceeded its pre-recession jobs peak…high-tech and life sciences continue to grow, at 9.8 percent and 5.9 percent year-over-year, respectively.”

Additional details on the commercial market recovery are available on the Banker & Tradesman website.

Related commercial real estate listings
Boston Office Space for lease