0 Boston Office Towers: Occupancy Drop; Rents still Climbing

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Wil Catlin

28 State Street – Office Building

Where is the value in office space within Boston? Low and mid-rise Class A.

Tenants in recent years have worked on space efficiency like State Street with their new facility in the Seaport, which will have less than 100 square feet per employee. Additionally, tenants have sought out a flight to quality by moving up in floors during the recent economic downturn and locking in rates for a longer term.

The Boston Business Journal cites a survey by Jones Lang LaSalle, “which examined 46 towers in the Back Bay, Financial District and the Seaport, found 22 buildings where occupancies dropped, while 21 saw increases and three were flat, year-over-year. Within the 31.8 million-square-foot office market, 5.7 million is available to lease – the equivalent of three John towers.”

More information from the survey is available on the BBJ’s website.

0 Tech Sector Hoping Walsh can Keep Downtown Office Space Affordable

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Office space at 200 High Street in the Financial District

Mayor Menino departs in January for Mayor Elect Walsh. Will our economy grow and prosper with the next administration? Well, it is a delicate balance that will spur development while maintaining affordability.

Boston.com posted a dense, thought-proviking piece examining the impact of the mayorial change on small business locations and city-based office space. Here are a few notable quotes from the article:

I spoke with a half dozen tech entrepreneurs about their hopes for and expectations of the incoming Walsh administration, and picked up on two major themes…They want the new mayor to help keep office space affordable and to improve public transit in the Innovation District.”

IdeaPaint president John Stephans told me his business, which is moving from Ashland to Boston in January, would have liked to relocate sooner but found the cost prohibitive until it enjoyed several successful years.

“We always wanted to be in the city, as do a lot of companies,” he said. “But I think companies feel priced out, especially young, venture-backed start-ups.”

The full article is available on Boston.com, here.

0 MassDOT Approves Back Bay Hotel, Retail, and Condo Project

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker & Tradesman

At Boylston Street and Mass Ave a new project has just gotten approvals from MDOT.

Details on the new project are available in Banker & Trademan, and included the following overview:

“A project at the corner of Boylston Street and Mass. Ave. in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood involving the construction of a hotel and residential development over the MassPike received approval from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation today…The 99-year lease agreement between MassDOT and ADG Scotia covering two plots of land, known as Parcels 12 and 15, will provide the Commonwealth project value of $18.5 million for the two parcels in the form of fixed payments early in the lease period combined with annual rent payments.”

The full article can be found here on B&T.

0 Real Estate Developers Voice Case for Tax Breaks

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: The Boston Globe

Are you in favor or opposed of tax relief for construction projects? A Boston Globe editorial addressed the issue of added tax relief for construction projects, noting “the developer of Boston’s ambitious Fenway Center development is seeking $7.8 million in city tax breaks to proceed with construction, saying the $500 million mega-project could fall apart without urgent public assistance.”

The full Globe article, available here, further explores the issue.

0 Copley Place will see $500M Expansion

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Copley place expansion, graphic rendering

Credit: Bisnow.com

Changes are coming to Copley Place, a 52-story tower to house rental apartments and condos. Currently there is no change to the existing office towers.

Bisnow is reporting that “Simon Property Groups $500M expansion of Copley Place–is advancing with the recent city approval of its revised plan to add rental apartments to the residential mix…Simon will build 433 rental apartments and 109 condos instead of 318 condos in the 625-foot, 52-story tower.”

Additional details are available online, here.

Related Property Listings
Copley Office Space for Lease

0 Ma Commercial Real Estate Development Ranks 7th

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Office space development and construction in Boston

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Our city is growing and adding more office, industrial, warehouse and retail space. This translates into construction jobs, followed by permanent jobs once the new facilities are built and occupied.

The local angle is detailed in the Boston Business Journal:

“The commercial real estate market’s continued rebound has pushed Massachusetts up two notches to 7th overall when it comes to construction spending among U.S. states, according to a new study by the NAIOP Research Foundation…Spending in the Bay State to build office, industrial, warehouse and retail space totaled $1.78 billion and supported 49,653 jobs in 2012, according to NAIOP.”

Follow the link for additional Boston Commercial Leasing Trends.

0 Boston Office Rents Climb 3.5 percent

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Herald

This is only part of the story. True, rental rates have risen, but the overall occupancy cost has risen even more than just the rental rates. In a rising market, like we are currently in, landlord’s contribute less in tenant improvement costs and offer much less rent abatement. This then translates into a higher occupancy cost. During a down market, a landlord could offer 125 percent of the first years rent to go improvements of the space, that number now could be 75 percent of the first years rent.

The Boston Herald’s analysis notes “office rents in Greater Boston grew at an even higher rate — 3.9 percent — primarily due to strong growth in Cambridge, downtown Boston and the northwest submarket, the report found. And rents may begin to rise at an even faster rate because employment levels in office jobs are reaching pre-recession levels.”

The Herald article can be found here: Hub Office Rates Jump

0 Marty Walsh would put City Hall up for Sale

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

So, politics aside should the city sell city hall for redevelopment? Personally I am in favor of this and not simply based on economics. The standards that are available in the construction industry far surpass available options of ‘67, how we use space has evolved, and we have learned to do more with less.

The mayoral race seems to still be very crowded, but this got my attention.

The Boston Business Journal reported, “State Rep. Martin Walsh, a candidate for Boston mayor, wants to sell Boston’s City Hall to a private developer – who would presumably bulldoze the much-maligned structure and its underused, adjacent plaza in favor of hotels, apartments and retail development.”

Walsh spoke with the Boston Herald and noted, “You could put a hotel boutique here. You could put a full hotel here. You could have an office building. You could put so much in this area…we could have shops … that would fit in with Faneuil Hall Marketplace.”

Related Property Listings
Boston Office Space for Lease

0 188 High Street may become Niche Hotel

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Herald

Today it offers parking for three cars wide, tomorrow it could offer two twin beds or a queen. The is the parcel know as 188 High Street which will be under review for a new 15 story glass façade hotel.

According to the Boston Herald, “a 60-room hotel is being proposed for a narrow paved lot on Boston’s High Street, across from the towering International Place in the Financial District…Developer Ronald Luccio Jr. plans to build an estimated $6 million, 15-story, glass-faced building for the moderately priced, limited-amenities hotel, where rooms would be small.”

The full article is up on the Boston Herald website.

0 Mayor Menino’s Departure to Impact Boston Real Estate

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Wil Catlin

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.