Category Archives: Boston Commercial Real Estate

0 Boston Class A Towers Experiencing Vacancy

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Office space on Huntington Ave. in Boston

Credit: BBJ

What Boston Class A towers are experiencing vacancy in the midst of a strong office market?

According to the BBJ, “many professional services firms are leaving the more traditional high-rise for gleaming new offices — most often on lower floors — in Boston’s Seaport District. And the wave of technology tenants taking their place aren’t interested in paying top dollar to take over high-rise leases. Rather, they have shown a preference to live, work and play at the center of a buzzing urban neighborhood…That’s increasingly left Boston with multiple towers with blocks of high-rise vacancy, as space closer to the ground gets ever more unavailable.”

The BBJ article further notes, “at the end of March, vacancy in high-rise offices (floors 23 and above) in the Financial District was at 16.3 percent, compared with 10.9 percent in mid-rise space (floors 13-22) and 7.4 percent in low-rise floors (1-12), per Cushman & Wakefield research.”

More information is available on the Boston Business Journal’s website, here.

0 Digitas Leases 200,000 RSF at 40 Water St. in Congress Sq.

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Office building at 40 Water Street

Credit: Banker and Tradesman

Digitas is on the move, literally; the ad agency DigitasLBi recently signed a lease at 40 Water Street to lease 200,000 RSF.

According to Banker and Tradesman, Digitas has “been shopping for office space for more than two years, with its 200,000-square-foot lease at 33 Arch St. set to expire in 2017. Related Beal is renovating 40 Water St. to make way for open-format offices topped with a 6-story glass addition and tree-lined roof deck overlooking Post Office Square.”

More information is available on B&T.

0 Mass Jobless Rate Dips to 15-Year Low

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commercial development in Boston

Credit: Bizjournals

“Make it in Massachusetts”  Our economy is strong, companies are hiring, and we have achieved a new low; the lowest unemployment rate since 2001.

According to the BBJ, “Massachusetts’ total unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent in August from the previous month’s 4.1 percent — a new low that hasn’t been seen since 2001 — according to the state…Preliminary estimates showed the state gained 5,900 jobs over the month, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported.”

Further details are available on the Boston Business Journal’s website, here.

0 What 10M Driverless Cars by 2020 Means for Real Estate Development

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Driverless car rendering

Credit: TheRealReporter

Boston will change significantly with the introduction of driverless cars. Do you expect to own a Level 4 driverless car in the next 10 years?

According to The Real Reporter, “Level 4 cars park themselves, they don’t need nearly the space for error as humans do, and don’t need space for passengers to exit from the sides. As landlords’ see their tenants’ workers go increasingly autonomous, it may make sense to proactively create areas or structures to more efficiently offer car storage than the traditional 150 space per acre parking lot…The autonomous revolution may quickly lead to a car-share model. This could rapidly change industry parking ratios –freeing land, in some cases, for more development!”

You can read more on the real estate impact of driverless cars on The Real Reporter, here.

0 Boston Ranks Among Top Office Markets in U.S.

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rendering of 130-140 northern avenue office building

Credit: Bizjournals.com

Boston ranks 6th nationally for office vacancy.

According to a report on the BBJ, “at 12 percent vacancy, Boston’s office market dipped by 1.2 percent year-over-year and was the sixth-tightest in the U.S., the report said. New York and Washington, D.C. ranked as the tightest office markets, each with 9.1 percent vacancy, followed by San Francisco at 10.2 percent and Seattle at 10.9 percent.”

Additional details are available on its website, here.

0 Cambridge and Kendall Square Office Rents Continue to Surge

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In short, the Office market in greater Boston has rents continuing to surge upward with fewer available options. Kendall Square and select Cambridge neighborhoods lead the charge, with rents up 76% since 2010.

Chart of Boston office rent prices

Credit: The Real Reporter

From The Real Reporter:

Kendall has enjoyed the most dramatic surge in rents during the present economic boom, currently going into its seventh year, as local rents bottomed out in 2010 following the mortgage recession.  Other areas benefitting from current dynamics include most urban areas as well as the Western suburbs, including 9 West, buoyed by changes in Needham.

Vacancy remains at very low levels as 49,000 sf of positive absorption was balanced with 66,000 sf of new property completions, resulting in a slight vacancy uptick of 0.1 percent, to 5.5 percent.

0 11 Massachusetts Companies Climb Fortune 500 List

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boston office building

Credit: BBJ

Massachusetts is on the march up the fortune 500 list with all but 12 of the companies advancing from their standing last year. The list next year will add GE, which placed 11th on the current list.

From the Boston Business Journal:

Again leading the way in Massachusetts was Boston-based insurance giant Liberty Mutual, which rose to No. 73 on the list after finishing No. 78 last year. Springfield’s MassMutual jumped nearly 20 spots on the list to No. 76, and this year Framingham-based retailer TJX (NYSE: TJX) entered the Fortune 100, coming in at No. 89 after ranking No. 103 last year.

0 Curbed Lists ’10 Buildings That Tell the Story of Boston’

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200 clarendon st. back bay

Credit: 200clarendon.com

For those history buffs of Boston buildings and architecture here is the top 10, according to Curbed Boston.

1. Faneuil Hall
1 Faneuil Hall Sq
Boston, MA 02109

2. Massachusetts State House
1 Ashburton Pl
Boston, MA 02108

3. Park Street Station
Park St.
Boston, MA 02108

4. The First Triple-Decker
10 Crowell St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124

5. The Custom House Tower
3 McKinley Sq.
Boston, MA 02109

6. The Pru
800 Boylston St.
Boston, MA 02199

7. City Hall
1 City Hall Sq.
Boston, MA 02201

8. Logan Air Traffic Control Tower
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
Boston, MA 02128

9. 200 Clarendon
200 Clarendon St.
Boston, MA 02116

10. The Ritz-Carlton Residences
10 Avery St
.
Boston, MA 02111

0 Tips to Temper Political Discussions in the Office

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Colleagues in office

Credit: BBJ

My mom used to say that politics, sex and religion were off limits in open conversations unless you know your audience.  What policy is in place at your workplace?

The BBJ recently posted a guide, of sorts, offering tips for keeping political discussions in the workplace ‘respectful’ during this coming election season.

Its five recommendations are the following:

1. Limit disruptions to the work environment
2. Know what activity is protected
3. Remain neutral
4. Update your employee handbook
5. Prepare for election day

You can read more on the Boston Business Journal’s website.

0 Big Dig II?

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South station to north station rail servince Boston

Credit: Boston Globe

To dig or not to dig? Seth Moulton says ‘dig’ between North Station and South Station.

According to a Boston Globe article, “Moulton is increasingly convinced that connecting the two stations is the way to go. The link would finally bring uninterrupted service to the Northeast Corridor, which means a person who gets on in Washington could ride all the way to Portland, Maine, without switching trains. It also means people on the commuter rail could more easily travel to either North or South stations without needing to hop onto the T.”

You can read the full Globe article, here.

Related Office Space Listings
Office Space near North Station
Office Space by South Station for lease