Category Archives: Boston Investment Properties

0 Prioritize and Execute Technology Migrations Early in an Office Move

Posted on by
Unpacking boxes in new office

Credit: BBJ

Any move is stressful be it for you home or office. The office can’t work without computers connected to the web and phones. Make sure to plan so your team reduces down time and plans for alternative solutions.

Here are some standard office timeframe considerations to keep in mind, courtesy of the Boston Business Journal:

  • Most Internet Service Providers take 60 to 120 days to have their service installed and ready in your new space
  • Most phone vendors take 30 to 90 days for their part, especially if they need to install their own circuit
  • Ideally, furniture should be delivered and set up in your space a week prior to move-in to allow ample time for workstation setup
  • In other words, if you’re less than four months away from your move date and you haven’t taken a look at internet providers, it’s time to pick up the phone and pick up the pace.

 

0 Office Landlords Look to Uber, Lyft to Help Lure Tenants

Posted on by
Traffic in Boston seaport and downtown area

Photo Credit: Boston Globe

Office landlords are constantly vying for office tenants to occupy their buildings. This is achieved through competitive rent, leasing incentives, common area upgrades and the addition of amenities. Now some landlords are looking beyond the traditional channels by helping their customers get their employees to the office without worrying about parking. Uber and Lyft could be the next line item on a landlords expense budget.

Bisnow notes, “Several New Jersey landlords are using the perk to overcome a lack of office parking, connect offices with downtowns and attract employees who do not own cars, the Wall Street Journal reports. Hugo Neu Corp. launched a program in March that offers $50 monthly credits for tenants’ employees without cars to commute to its Kearny Point office.”

You can read the full article on Bisnow.

0 Boston vs. NY – Commercial Real Estate Edition: Battle for Aetna

Posted on by
Office building owned by Aetna

Credit: BBJ

It appears the exodus from Connecticut continues as speculation swirls around Aetna’s search for a new home. Perhaps it is best summed up as a Yankees Red Sox battling in a pennant race and time will tell what city will be victorious.  Boston will continue to attract world class companies of all sizes and the talented individuals who will be employed by them.

From Bizjournals.com:

“We are in negotiations with several states regarding a headquarters relocation, with the goal of broadening our access to innovation and the talent that will fill knowledge economy-type positions,” Aetna said in a statement on Wednesday.

The city of Boston in July 2015 had named Aetna a “top target” following proposed tax-law changes in Connecticut, according to emails obtained by the Boston Business Journal in a public-information request.

0 Boston Skyline is Slated for Change

Posted on by

The Boston Skyline is on track to change by 2020.  It will introduce some new players to the top ten and maintain some existing ones.

Curbed just posted a map of the 10 tallest buildings it expects to stand over Boston in 2020:

Boston office towers in 2020

Credit: Curbed

  1. 200 Clarendon
  2. Winthrop Square Tower
  3. Prudential Center Tower
  4. Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences One Dalton Street
  5. Millennium Tower
  6. South Station Tower
  7. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
  8. One Boston Place
  9. One International Place
  10. Boston Harbor Garage tower

You can read more about the 10 buildings on Curbed, Boston.

0 600 ft. Boston Harbor Garage Tower Gets Green Light

Posted on by

The city of Boston gives the “Green Light” for Chiofaro’s 600 foot Harbor Tower project.

rendering of Boston harbor garage project

Credit: BBJ

Boston Harbor real estate

Credit: BBJ

From the Boston Business Journal:

The city-approved plan allows for a 600-foot tower at the site of the Boston Harbor Garage, a 1,380-space, 70-foot parking garage owned by Chiofaro, with 50 percent of the project site required to be open space. It also allows for a 305-foot, 22-story tower at the site of James Hook & Co. seafood restaurant on Northern Avenue, which would call for 30 percent of the lot as open space.

The plan covers 42 acres of downtown waterfront — of which about 22 acres is filled tidelands, while the remainder is the harbor — and 26 separate land parcels. The public process to develop a planning vision for the waterfront began in 2013.

0 Amazon is Looking for Office Space in Boston

Posted on by
Amazon delivery boxes

Credit: Boston Globe

Amazon has 19 options to look at that have between 100,000 – 200,000 square feet of available space — now or in the near future — from East Cambridge to the Seaport and the Financial District to Back Bay.

As of today the availabilities would be in the following buildings:

  • 1 Beacon St
  • 200 Berkeley St
  • 222 Berkeley St
  • 399 Boylston St
  • 105 Broadway
  • 1 Center Plz
  • 200 Clarendon St
  • 1 Copley Pl
  • 2 Copley Pl
  • 26 Court St
  • 21-25 Drydock Ave
  • 101 Federal St
  • 110 High St
  • 125 High St
  • 100 Northern Ave
  • 53 State St
  • 253 Summer St
  • 645 Summer St

From the Boston Globe:

Amazon already has a large and growing presence in Kendall Square, but is eying downtown Boston in part because it has cheaper rents and more available space than in nearby Cambridge. It would also join a string of tech companies that have set up shop downtown, helping to reinvent the traditional business district as a hub for a new industry.

“Downtown Boston already has tremendous street cred in the tech world,” said Brendan Carroll, head of Encompass Real Estate Strategy, which tracks Boston’s office market. “But Amazon moving in would be a really big thing.”

0 Synergy Sells Two Class B Office Buildings in Boston for $75m

Posted on by
Class B office building in Boston

Credit: BBJ

Trades continue in Boston’s Class B sector with the sale of 99 Chauncy Street and 101 Summer Street to TIAA from Synergy Investments for $75 million.

A recent article on the BBJ’s website notes, “Synergy sold the historic assets for a combined $75 million to a unit of TIAA, a New York-based teachers’ union pension fund with $889 billion in assets under management, according to Suffolk County deeds. Synergy’s ownership partner in the properties was Indepencia PE, a Chile-based investment advisor. The $75 million sale price is four times the combined $18.7 million Synergy invested in 2010 and 2011 to acquire the properties.”

Additional details about the class B office building sales are available on the Boston Business Journal, here.

0 Winthrop Sq. Tower Casts Shadows on Boston Common

Posted on by
Winthrop Sq. development in downtown Boston

Credit: Boston Herald

Should the shadows make way for the Winthrop Square tower, or should the law enacted in 1990 and 1992 hold the line? This will have a direct impact on the Boston Common and Boston Public Garden.

From the Boston Herald:

Laws enacted in 1990 and 1992 dictate new buildings in that area only can cast shadows over the parks during the first hour after sunrise or before 7 a.m. — whichever is later — or the last hour before sunset.

The tower is expected to cast new morning shadows for as long as 90 minutes on the Common and 29 minutes on the Public Garden. No shadow would be cast past 9:25 a.m. on the Common and 8 a.m. on the Public Garden.

“Based on this data, we believe the project’s many benefits more than compensate for the shadow cast over the Common and the Public Garden,” Millennium partner Joe Larkin said. “We continue to welcome dialogue with all concerned parties and remain confident that a mutually agreeable resolution of this issue will be achieved.”

0 Walsh Has Visions on ‘Boston Building Boom’

Posted on by
Office space for commercial development in Boston

Credit: Boston Globe

Mayor Walsh is planning an update to the city’s master plan, which was last updated in the 1950’s. The concern is how do manage the growth of the daytime and nighttime population while maintaining efficient access for commuters and tourists.

From the Boston Globe:

Boston’s building boom will need to stretch into some of the farthest reaches of the city to keep pace with a population that could hit 800,000 by 2050, according to a new citywide master plan the Walsh administration previewed Thursday.

A draft of the plan, called Imagine Boston 2030 envisions new neighborhoods emerging from underdeveloped pockets of a city that is bursting at the seams in more central locations. Walsh officials said they will use the master plan to sustain and redirect growth more evenly around the city, and to attack seemingly-intractable challenges, from pricey housing, to traffic-choked streets, to rising sea levels.

One key element of the 300-page document is “expanding neighborhoods,” in which a half-dozen pockets, mostly on the outer edges of the city, would be targeted for large-scale mixed-use development. Many of these locations already have good access to public transit, city officials point out, and have lower land costs to allow for more moderately-priced housing. That would help relieve pressure on more popular neighborhoods where prices have soared.

0 Boston Heliport will be Discussed at Mid-November Hearing

Posted on by

Boston has not had a heliport since 1999 and City councilors plan to hold a public hearing November 16th to discuss the topic.

Downtown Boston site for Helipad

Credit: Boston Herald

From the Boston Herald:

Boston city councilors will hold a public hearing Wednesday on plans to create a commercial heliport in the Hub after a call for more information by the councilor who helped ground plans for a similar site eight years ago.

City and state officials promised to create a commercial helipad as part of their $120 million incentive package to lure General Electric to Boston from Connecticut. But the project has stalled among concerns about corporate incentives and MassDOT budget concerns.

“Establishing a helipad would likely lead to an influx of helicopters to the area, which would impact noise, air pollution and safety concerns in our neighborhoods,” the order reads.