0 177 Huntington Ave. Goes Up for Sale

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Office building for sale at 177 Huntington Ave in Boston

Photo Credit: The Real Reporter

177 Huntington moves to the sale block from Beacon Capital. The building anchors the First Church of Christ plaza and has become a destination for boutique Class A tenants.

From The Real Reporter:

Acquired under a 99-year ground lease almost four years ago, the 26-story, 206,625-sf building should yield “way over” $700 per sf by one account, possibly eclipsing $725 per sf by other sources.

Observers say they anticipate 177 Huntington Ave. will draw from a wide geography of heavy hitters…One factor likely mitigating the 177 Huntington Ave. mark in that area is the leasehold structure of ownership, a format certain funds are unable to pursue. Either way, it appears Beacon is in line for a hefty return on the asset.

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

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Wil Catlin

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 Developers Move to Luxury to Offset Escalating Labor Cost

Posted on August 2, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Construction laborers work on an office building in Boston

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Due to the great recession we have fewer skilled labor working in the construction trade industry and as a result that cost has increased significantly. On a sampling of construction projects, the cost of labor could account for 40 – 60 percent of the overall project cost.

According to Bizjournals, “the result is a shortage in the supply of skilled labor in the building trades, a trend that’s enabled everyone from mechanical contractors to steel manufacturers to punch their ticket when it comes to selecting the most attractive jobs at the most competitive rates. That in turn is turbo-charging the cost of construction and, in turn, a preference among developers to favor big, luxury projects to better recoup their costs and lock in attractive returns.”

Additional information is available on the BBJ’s website.

0 Franklin and Federal Street Office Buildings sell for for $177M

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Wil Catlin

70 Franklin St.

Office trades continue with the sale of 175 Federal Street and 70 Franklin Street to Deka Immobilien Investment GmbH’s of Germany in excess of $177 million.

According to multiple sources, Deka Immobilien has been tabbed as winning bidder on both assets, committing in excess of $135 million for 175 Federal St. and more than $42 million to secure the Franklin Street property which dates to 1910. The German-based sponsor of several open-end real estate funds buying on a global basis and with assets in the Northeast “definitely” has 175 Federal St. under agreement, one source insists, a notion supported by others, and the same entity has been named winning bidder for 70 Franklin St., multiple sources further maintain.

More information on both properties is available on The Real Reporter.

Additional Property Information
175 Federal Street office space
70 Franklin Street offices for lease

0 Boston Among Top Hubs for International Investment

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credt: Bisnow

Since I am from Boston, I am clearly biased in thinking that this is The Hub. Boston has a wonderful cross section of talent and disciplines that make our collective community diverse as we compete in the public theatre.

This also holds true in real-estate and investment activity, according to a report from real estate firm JLL, “which ranked Boston 14th in the world, and fourth in the U.S., in terms of international investment activity in the last three years, relative to its size.”

“JLL listed Boston among a number of small to medium-sized cities in the U.S., Europe, and Australia with strong infrastructure and talent-driven economies that have become popular with foreign capital, as prices have surged in the most expensive big markets. Those cities have doubled their share of global real estate investment over the last decade.”

You can read more on the Boston Globe.

0 The Role of Acoustics in Commercial Design

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Meter to meaure acoustics of office space

Credit: Boston Globe

The average rentable square feet occupied per person has dropped as more companies offer an open work environments with break out rooms for meetings an personal calls. This has resulted in a new market for sound engineers trying to create the delicate balance of sound mitigation. Too many hard surfaces wont absorb sound so the engineers use technology to assist with this.

This is where a company like Acentech Inc. can help. A Cambridge acoustics consulting firm that was once part of the famed tech pioneer BBN Technologies, Acentech uses sophisticated computer-generated audio simulations called “auralizations” that make it possible to hear a building before workers ever break ground.

“Auralization is acoustic rendering,” said Matthew Azevedo, an Acentech engineer. “An architect would never tell a developer ‘Here’s the floor plan, just imagine what it’s going to look like.’ Well, we feel the same about acoustics.”

“Architects love these big, open spaces with lots of glass and exposed steel and all these wonderful hard surfaces,” Azevedo said. “Our job is to make it behave acoustically like a theater.”

You can read more about Acentech and acoustic engineering in Boston office development on the Boston Globe.

0 Boston Office Market Shows Strength in 2015

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Real Estate Times

The region’s office market continued its upward push with rents climbing while vacancy continues to decline.

A Boston Real Estate Times article includes the following highlights to express the market direction:

Market-wide vacancy averaged 12.2 percent for 2015, the lowest annual average since 2002. Vacancy for the quarter remained steady from third quarter at 12.1 percent.
Class A asking lease rates topped $42 per square foot for the first time since 2002, reaching $42.06 in fourth quarter, 3.9 percent higher than first-quarter 2015.
Boston’s Central Business District had 502,000 square feet of absorption in fourth quarter and totaled 1.58 million square feet for the year, the highest annual total since 2006.
Vacancy in Boston’s Seaport District dropped to 8.3 percent, its lowest level since 2000, when inventory was 6 million square feet smaller than today.
Cambridge closed the quarter at a remarkable 2.7 percent vacancy, its lowest mark on record.
There was 314,000 square feet of positive absorption in the Route 128 submarkets and 328,000 square feet in the Interstate 495 submarkets.

0 BBJ Posts Interactive Map of Boston’s Largest Construction Projects

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Boston is rising! We are witnessing one of the city’s largest building booms and the attached map, courtesy of the Boston Business Journal, lays out all of the active sites.

Credit: BBJ

0 Personifying Commercial Real Estate Goes Beyond a Name

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Herald

What’s in a name? In short, research. The goal is for the name to project the building’s identity and brand to its current and future prospects.

From the Boston Herald:

Krista Bourque, creative director of Branding Iron, a real estate branding studio inside Boston architectural firm Stantec, says a lot of research and thought goes into a name, including the history of a site, the surrounding neighborhood and an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the competition. She says a building’s name is a big part of its brand identity and how a property is perceived by its investors, potential buyers or renters.

“Giving a building a name is about giving it a personality and creating an image that differentiates it from the competition,” adds Brenda Adams, owner of Adams Design, who has been naming projects since 1990, including the South End’s Penmark and North Station’s Strada 234.

0 Boston Office Market Trends: 2010-2015

Posted on December 17, 2015 by Wil Catlin

If your company signed an office lease during the Great Recession chances are your rents are looking pretty, pretty, pretty good.

Office space in Boston is growing increasingly more expensive. So much so current asking rents are at some of the highest they have ever been. The top floors of the Prudential building are asking $90 per rentable square foot…$90!

Boston Office Market Trends

The urban leasing team at Boston Realty Advisors wanted to know how much has changed in the last five years across all of Greater Boston’s major neighborhoods: East Cambridge, Seaport, Financial District, Back Bay, North Station. They included image break downs of each market on asking rental rates and vacancy rates for the top tier buildings (Class A) and the middle market buildings (Class B). The facts are astounding!

If your company’s lease is expiring in the next 12-24 months chances are the second fixed expense on your balance sheet next to payroll will be increasing if you wish to renew. Now is the time to engage your real estate team on how the current market dynamics will impact the company’s short and long terms plans for office space, the company’s bottom line, and how your company uses its current space. Knowing the options, risks, and opportunities in the current real estate climate is the best hedge against a rising market. Its starts with being proactive. Time can be your best leverage but quickly your worst enemy when it is running out.

Robert LeClair is Managing Director and Partner at Boston Realty Advisors having handled hundreds of lease transactions for clients in Greater Boston for over the last 10yrs.

Click here to download the full PDF: Boston Office Market Trends 2010-2015