0 888 Boylston Street Office Tower Sets 2014 Launch

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: The Real Reporter

Back Bay continues its foothold as strongest office market in New England. The Boston Marathon and Duck Tour Parade route will pass Boston Properties’ newest landmark tower, 888 Boylston Street which is schedule to start construction in Spring of 2014.

According to The Real Reporter, “Prudential Center owner Boston Properties has an office tenant in tow that would enable the proposed 17-story, 442,000-sf building to proceed. Market sources claim Natixis Global Asset Management, a French conglomerate that owns homegrown Copley Real Estate Advisors, is negotiating for an estimated 115,000 sf to facilitate a relocation from its 399 Boylston St. home a few blocks east on the opposite side of the Back Bay boulevard.”

Additional details are available in the Real Reporter’s post.

0 Price of Office Space in Boston’s Innovation District Still Climbing

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Wil Catlin

How expensive is the Innovation Districtt? Well, Boston’s Innovation District has pulled neck-and-neck with Back Bay. The Innovation District has benefited from a tremendous influx of tenants that could no longer afford East Cambridge and Kendall Square. Now with prices at or above pre-crash levels, the value play is within the low-rise Class A and Class B office space in the Financial District.

Office space in Boston's Innovation district and Back Bay

Credit: Boston Globe

A managing director at Cassidy Turley, David Campbell, recently commented to the Boston Globe, “the Innovation District has offered the most obvious place for the city to grow…the Big Dig and the convention center and the Ted Williams Tunnel have really made it fertile ground for future development.”

More from Campbell is available in the full article, on the Boston Globe’s website.

0 The Block on Congress Reinvented

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Herald

An era gone by, no longer will the Fidelity sign hang at 82 Devonshire Street. Related Beal acquired the 343,000 square foot portfolio and is in the process of reviewing plans to revitalize the retail storefronts. Boston developer Related Beal has acquired a five-building portfolio in the Financial District from Fidelity Investments with plans to upgrade its office and retail space.

Stephen Faber, executive vice president of Related Beal, commented on the opportunity in an article on Banker & Tradesman’s website:

“Rarely do you have the opportunity to reposition and reinvent an entire city block, especially one in the heart of downtown Boston,”

The full article is available, here.

0 Boston Office Market Shifts to the Financial District

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Wil Catlin

The Downtown Boston Office Market continues to be strong as firms seek better value options than the high-priced Seaport or Back Bay submarkets. Pricing in the Class B market is still in the low-to-mid $30’s PSF downtown, while the Seaport has pushed into the low to mid $40’s.

B&T recently reported that “the popularity of the Seaport and Back Bay, where office building vacancy rates have been at historical lows in recent months, has been a boon to the city’s traditionally staid, button-down financial center, where younger and tech-related firms have opened up shop.”

Additional information is available on the Banker & Tradesman website.

0 Boutique Buildings Growing in Boston

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Not all new construction project are towers. Some are boutique buildings designed to blend into their surroundings and fit on a much smaller footprint.

A boutique building recently highlighted on the Boston Herald’s website is Zero Farnsworth. The Herald notes, “in a smaller-scale building you can pay much more attention to the quality of the design and the details,” said Damian Szary, a principal at Boston-based Redgate Real Estate Advisors, whose Gate Residential unit is developing a nine-story condo complex along Congress and Farnsworth streets in the booming Seaport District. With its floor-to-ceiling glass windows all around, Zero Farnsworth will be strikingly contemporary in an area of brick warehouses.”

The full Herald article is available on BostonHerald.com.

0 BRA Approves $2.3B in New Projects

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Wil Catlin

BRA approves new projects in downtown Boston

Credit: Boston Business Journal

So what does $2.3B look like in the City of Boston? We’ll soon find out. The BRA has just approved seven new projects collectively totaling $2.3 billion.

The Boston Business Journal published a gallery showcasing each of the seven projects. You can view the gallery via the following link: BBJ Slide Show.

0 Boston Ranks 2nd in Construction Jobs

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

Greater Boston is 2nd to Los Angeles in new construction jobs, beating Houston, Atlanta and Phoenix. Employers and employees want to work live and play in our beautiful city.

According to the Boston Globe, “since August 2012, construction activity and employment have jumped. The Boston metro area added 8,700 construction jobs, compared with 8,900 in Los Angeles and 8,200 in Houston…Driving this surge are several factors, including the strength of Boston’s technology, biotechnology, and medical industries, pent-up demand for housing, and improved credit conditions that have made financing available for commercial construction.”

What we’re experiencing is the revitalization and creation of communities that cater to the changing demands of today’s workforce, while offering all aspects of a residential community that includes schools and grocery stores. Thank you to our construction industry for making this happen.

The full Globe article is available to subscribers, here.

0 The 25 Largest Office Buildings in Greater Boston (via BBJ)

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Wikipedia

When thinking about your next office do you care to be in one of Boston’s top 25 largest buildings? Number one is the John Hancock with a total of 1,755,400 rentable square feet that is owned by Boston Properties.

The Boston Business Journal has posted its list of the top 25 largest office buildings in Greater Boston. You can download a pdf containing the complete list of the largest office buildings in greater boston, courtesy of the BBJ.

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.