0 Belkin Pushes for Winthrop Square Tower

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

Belkin is one of eight developers chasing the development opportunity at the Winthrop Square parking garage site. His plan is after a 24/7 model that incorporates a live, work play them that embraces the “Café Culture” of today.

From the Boston Globe:

At the centerpiece of Belkin’s 740-foot office and residential tower is an innovation center, one designed for entrepreneurs and those who aspire to be one. The description itself may be eye-glazing or eye-rolling at a time when everyone claims to be innovative, but to hear Belkin explain it, you feel like he’s onto something big. It’s an idea that could go a long way to break down the walls that divide our business community, ones that keep Kendall Square and Innovation District types from mingling with those in the Financial District.

0 State Street Tower Offered to Public

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

Office buildings are trading at records levels and the influx of capital into Boston shows no sign of letting up. 1 Lincoln Street which is home to State Street is offering a new twist, you can own a piece.

From the Boston Globe:

[The] venture led by Fortis Property Group of New York, which bought the 1.1-million-square-foot tower for just under $900 million in 2006, would sell a 48.88 percent interest in the building through a real estate investment trust called ETRE REIT, according to documents that were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In the documents, ETRE said the State Street tower, built in 2003 and fully occupied by State Street Corp., is currently valued at $1.1 billion.

The move to hold a public stock offering for the building is the idea of ETRE Financial LLC, founded three years ago with the purpose of “facilitating the public listing of individual real estate assets to improve access, liquidity, and transparency in commercial real estate,” according to its website.

0 Multiple Projects from Boston Properties Progressing

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Herald

Boston Properties is bullish on Boston with projects underway or proposed from Back Bay, Financial District and North Station.

· 888 Boylston has seen the crane arrive and has announced is major tenant Natixis Global Asset Management
· 100 Federal Street is looking to add more retail on the Congress Street side of the project

From the Boston Herald:

“In 2015, we estimate we could move approximately $1 billion in pre-development projects into our active development pipeline,” CEO Owen Thomas said. “Before launching any of these projects, we need to complete the entitlement and planning process and, in most cases, some level of pre-leasing.”

0 115 Winthrop Square Considered for Boston’s Second-Tallest Building

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker&Tradesman

The Boston skyline is poised to see significant change of the next five years as projects that are under construction come online. 115 Winthrop Square is getting attention and might be home to Boston’s second tallest building if O’Brien has anything to do with it.

According to Banker&Tradesman, “developer Thomas O’Brien of Boston-based HYM Investments is proposing a 69-story, 780-foot-tall residential tower that would become the city’s second-tallest building, just 10 feet shy of the Hancock Tower…O’Brien was one of eight developers who submitted proposals to build a skyscraper in the Financial District. The Boston Redevelopment Authority sought proposals for a one-acre parcel currently occupied by the municipal garage at 115 Winthrop Square. O’Brien’s plan calls for a substantial redevelopment of the square, including a new Boston public school and a relocated St. Anthony Shrine, friary and ministry center. Under the O’Brien proposal, the church properties and school would be built on the former garage site and a residential tower with 11,000-square-foot floor plates would be built on the former shrine property.”

The HYM Investment Group can be seen, here.

0 Epstein’s Instructive Strategy for Transforming Downtown Boston

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: bisnow

Bob Epstein can teach us a few things about remaking duds into destinations. Lafayette Center was that dud that wasn’t getting any airtime from prospective tenants, despite location, large floor plates and infrastructure.

“At Lafayette City Center, they also saw a property with ‘good bones and upside potential. It has high, 14-foot to 17-foot ceilings, expansive column spacing of 30 feet by 36 feet and big windows. As the downtown vacancy rate falls, rents are rising but Downtown Crossing is reasonably priced, Tom tells us. Its rents in the high $30s/SF to $40s/SF compare well to Back Bay rents in the $50s/SF and Cambridge hitting the $60s/SF. Downtown Crossing is still a value play. But back in 2002, Abbey Group saw that it—like Fenway in the ‘90s and Back Bay in the ‘70s—was undervalued,” according to a Bisnow editorial.

The full Bisnow article is available on its website.

0 Storm-Resistant AquaFence will Shield Atlantic Wharf Building

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Wil Catlin

flood protection around Atlantic Wharf building in Boston financial district

Credit: WGBH

I must admit I have never heard of this, AquaFence. Boston Properties the owner of Atlantic Wharf at 280 Congress is on the forefront of flood prevention.

A WGBH news article describes the AquaFence; “when it’s assembled, an AquaFence turns a single building into something like a walled city, with one big difference: the side of the wall facing out — toward the encroaching storm water — is connected to a series of panels that lie on the ground. Atlantic Wharf’s property manager, Barrett Cooke, says floodwater is supposed to cover those panels on the ground, weighing them down and strengthening the whole AquaFence.”

Some of the tenants for 280 Congress Street are:

• Wellington Financial
• McKinsey
• TripAdvisor
• Raptor Group

0 Office Tower Planned at 121 Seaport

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Wil Catlin

300 A Street office space in Boston Seaport

One of the next major projects to come out of the ground in the Seaport looks to be from developer Skanska. As office rents continue upward, what tenant will make the migration from E. Cambridge to the Seaport?

From Banker & Tradesman:

“As it finalizes cost estimates for 121 Seaport in Boston, developer Skanska USA is positioning the 425,000-square-foot tower as a rival to Cambridge’s Kendall Square among tech companies looking for build-to-suit sites….Shawn Hurley, executive vice president of Skanska USA Development, said 121 Seaport has a shot at attracting the neighborhood’s next big lab tenant. Vertex Pharmaceuticals was the first major life science company to commit to the South Boston waterfront, moving from Cambridge to a 1.1-million-square-foot headquarters on the Fan Pier in January 2014.”

Related Property Listings
Available office space in Boston Seaport

0 Back Bay and North Station May Get New Office Towers

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: B&T

Boston Properties is moving forward with 2 major projects located at 2 transportation hubs. Back Bay Station is the proposed spot of a new tower development, while North Station will benefit from the same.

From Banker and Tradesman:

The real estate investment trust said this morning it has entered a joint venture to acquire the air rights for the 377,000-square-foot initial phase of the North Station redevelopment. It also has signed a 44-year extension on its lease for the Clarendon Street parking garage with the state Department of Transportation, part of a larger proposal to build two towers containing offices, residences and retail above Back Bay Station. As part of the agreement, Boston Properties will take over management of the renovated station, which serves the Orange Line subway and several commuter rail lines.

0 Boston Development Remains Strong into 2015

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Wil Catlin

In 2014 Boston benefited from some significant growth and 2015 looks to be more of the same.

The Boston Business Journal posted some numbers to illustrate Boston’s 2014 development:

$4 billion worth of new construction will have broken ground by Dec. 31, up 16.4 percent from the year before.
7.5 million square feet of total space will have been added.
12,000 construction jobs were supported this year.
3,859 housing units are under construction, on track to meet a target of 53,000 units by 2030.

One of the many contributing areas to the boom is the Boston Innovation District.

0 Boston Real Estate Valued at More than $100B

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Boston is a $100 billion dollar city and the hub’s office tenants will be paying for it. Expect your office lease rates to rise with the new year’s tax bill.

Credit: The Boston Globe

From the Boston Globe:

“With the [Boston] real estate market surging, the total estimated value of its residential and commercial property jumped over that threshold for the first time and has climbed to a total of $110 billion, according to a new city assessment…The increase will mean significantly higher tax bills for many property owners next year, although the extent of those increases will not be known until tax rates are set in the coming days…To stave off sticker shock, the city’s assessing department has already begun reaching out to owners in some neighborhoods where values have increased the most.”