0 Kendall Square Initiative Submitted by MIT

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Wil Catlin

From MIT

MIT has presented their update plan for Kendall Square in Cambridge. Kendal Square is currently one of the hottest office markets nationally with record rents for Class A & B office space. Major tenants include Microsoft and Google.

From MIT:

The Kendall Square Initiative aims to create a vibrant mixed-use district featuring six new buildings on what are now MIT-owned parking lots in the East Campus/Kendall Square area, including three buildings for research and development, two for housing, and one for retail and office space. The plan will produce approximately 250 net new housing units for graduate students and approximately 290 new housing units for market use, more than 100,000 square feet of new and repositioned ground-floor retail, and nearly three acres of new and repurposed open spaces — in addition to providing research and development space in support of Kendall Square’s growing innovation district.

The Initiative was developed as a result of approximately seven years of internal and external dialogue. The Cambridge City Council approved new zoning for MIT’s properties in the East Campus/Kendall Square area in 2013, laying the foundation for the advancement of the mixed-use proposal.

0 Harvard Business Grads Moving to Tech, Startups

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Harvard grads are more likely to choose startups to begin their career rather than the traditional path of large corporations.

According to the BBJ, “one in five MBA students in Harvard Business School’s 2015 graduating class have entered the technology sector, the highest level since 2000 — that is, the year the dot-com bubble was about to implode.”

The Boston Business Journal article continues, noting “the newest crop of graduates also possessed a more entrepreneurial streak than their predecessors. Nine percent of graduates accepted offers from startup companies, nearly double the percentage from the previous year, according to statistics recently published by HBS. Another 9 percent started their own businesses, up from 8 percent in 2014. There were 915 students in HBS’s 2015 graduating class.”

You can read the full article on the Boston Business Journal’s website.

0 Boston’s Building Boom Modernizes Skyline

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Curbed

Credit: Curbed[/caption]

What do you think about some of Boston’s newest buildings gracing our skyline?

According to Curbed, Boston “is in the midst of adding about 8,000 new apartments and condos over the next three years, doubling the amount built in large luxury complexes since the 1960s. Just last year, the city approved construction projects totaling more than $3 billion. By the beginning of 2015, some 14.6 million square feet of new buildings were rising in Boston.

You can read the full article on Curbed.com

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

0 Month-to-Month Office Space

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Wil Catlin

The workforce that rides to work on our public transpiration and roadways if very different today than it was 10 years ago. Shared workspace environments like WeWork have changed how business’s get up and running and reduced some of the barriers to going out on your own.

0 Map Indicates Walking Time to the Nearest MBTA Station

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Wil Catlin

The largest concentration of office space north of New York City is the Boston Financial District. A frequently asked question is, “what the nearest T line and how far is the walk?” Thanks to Aaron Doucett, we now have an answer.

Credit: Doucettmaps

From Boston.com:

[Doucett’s] current creation is a map that MBTA riders can use to visualize the walking distance between their home or office and the nearest MBTA station.

“I wanted to create something that anyone living in Boston or the surrounding cities would find interesting and useful,” Doucett said. “I think this map would also be very helpful for someone looking to move to the area, who is searching for apartments or jobs and wants to estimate their commute.”

Follow this link to view the MBTA walking map.

0 Map out the Inside of your Office Buildings

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Bisnow

Maps are no longer just about city streets and highways, they are for indoors as well. Look to Google and Apple to see what’s on the inside of a building near you.

From Bisnow:

Google uses a rucksack contraption to create indoor maps of large venues like the British Museum in London. Apple is also getting in on the action with its “Indoor Survey App,” which allows users to map interiors by “dropping points,” CityMetric reports. And while Google and Apple offer nice 2D maps, Harvard University and Redlands, CA-based SmarterBetterCities are taking it to the next level. They’re working together to create 3D interior maps of Harvard’s campus, using ESRI’s arcGIS platform.

0 Cambridge Office Rents Continue to Grow

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

Office rents continue to climb in East Cambridge in both Lab and Office with some of $80 per square foot.

A BBJ article reports, “Escalating rents in Cambridge’s Kendall Square are pushing away some young life science and biotech companies, but there’s still incredibly strong demand for Class A office and lab space in the neighborhood, according to Alexandria Real Estate Equities.”

You can read the full article on the Boston Business Journal’s website.

0 Monitor Cambridge Office Developments Online

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Cliff Notes for real estate? Well, in a way, yes. coUrbanize is a conduit into filing packages for city development projects, without forcing the reader to take the time to read a 400-page memorandum. The system will allow readers to view a summary of the project and leave their comments behind.

site to track Cambridge office development online

Property page on coUrbanize

A Banker&Tradesman article reports “coUrbanize is partnering with the city to post summaries and details of 42 projects that are in permitting or under construction, including the 1-million-square-foot Kendall Square urban renewal plan and approximately 3,000 new residential units across the city…Over the past year, Cambridge planning officials have been sharing their open data system with coUrbanize, which built a website showing the location and details of all development proposals and construction projects.”

B&T summarized the key point thusly: “The platform gives residents a new avenue to participate in the process outside the traditional public hearing forum.

0 Office Space Now Serves as a Recruiting Tool

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Contemporist

Office space is no longer just a place to work, but rather a recruiting tool. Prospective employees not only are evaluating their financial compensation, additionally they investigate the work environment. The new office model encompasses much smaller footprint per employee while many more collaborative areas.

From Boston.com

The recent TripAdvisor and New Balance office unveilings in the greater Boston area have included variations on the same theme: these buildings are necessary to attract young talent.

With their spiffy, modern, amenity-filled new digs, these companies are competing with the likes of Google, Apple, and Amazon to get the top talent in the country and the world.