0 Tenants Returning to Boston Offices Will Find A Strange New World

By Dees Stribling | Bisnow | April 27, 2020

Most Boston commercial space is now empty, but the time is approaching when many or most workers return, perhaps in shifts or only a few days a week.

Property managers are already trying to sort out the transition, speakers on Bisnow’s health and safety in property management webinar Thursday said. The details of bringing people back into commercial space in an orderly and safe way aren’t clear. One thing is clear: It won’t be easy.

Most space in Downtown and in Cambridge is empty, with commercial occupancy below 5%, though occupancy is higher than that in a few pockets, such as life science space, Lincoln Property Co. Vice President of Property Management Scott Rickards said.

“We’re planning for re-occupancy at some point after May 4,” Rickards said. “Could be sooner, we hope. We’re fielding an increasing amount of questions every day from tenants about what they can expect.”

Personal responsibility is going to be critically important to making re-occupancy work, Rickards said.

“We all know people who go to work sick, and that’s what we really can’t have,” he said. “Every company has to be responsible for its employees, and every individual responsible for themselves.”

The focus now, EBI Consulting Director of Environmental Health & Safety Karla King said, is how company policies can evolve to address the future re-entry. Some companies have specific issues, such as those needing to deal with COVID-19 cases at their buildings, while others are simply trying to devise forward-looking planning.

“We’re working closely with some of our clients, evaluating current housekeeping and programs and getting an understanding of high-touch and common spaces,” King said.

In the case of a building with a suspected COVID-19 case, each instance is evaluated based on when it happened and how isolated the space is, King said. Then her company works with the client to identify or evaluate a cleaning company, looking closely at its cleaning products and protocols.

Even without a COVID-19 case, tenants who plan to return need to formulate detailed plans, King said.

“What PPE are people going to be bringing or wearing to the office, mandated by state or federal officials, or by their own choice?” she said. “Where are they going to dispose of their PPE?”

Boston Realty Advisors Managing Principal Wil Catlin, who moderated the webinar, asked whether some landlords will have stricter requirements regarding PPE than others.

“At some level, there needs to be baseline standards,” he said.

PPE use will vary according to the use of the space and how much common space there is, King said, adding that common areas and high-touch spaces are going to be the biggest areas of concern for property managers.

“That’s one thing to communicate to tenants: the importance of everyone controlling their space,” King said.

Property managers can’t be responsible for the cleanliness of every specific desk or other personal area, King said, since it is largely out of their control. Instead, they will be more concerned with common spaces, such as gyms, cafeterias, restrooms and reception areas.

Catlin also asked about security procedures in a post-pandemic environment, specifically how buildings will handle front desks and check-ins. Technology is a longer-term answer to security, Rickards said, and some Class-A buildings probably already have the tech in place to go touchless.

“There are some apps that work with security systems so that your phone has a unique identity, and you can walk into the building, and it knows your app,” Rickards said.

But most Boston real estate doesn’t have that kind of sophistication yet, he said. In many small lobbies, social distancing won’t even be possible.

“So there will be a lot of workarounds, and that’s going to extend the need for PPE,” Rickards said. “You’re going to need to have a mask on, and maybe gloves. Can we come up with a way to show an ID so that no one else touches it? It might be a rudimentary as the security guard doing all the writing. It’s going to be complicated.”

0 Boston Class A and Class B rents 62% tighter than pre-recession peak

Boston office statsOffice rents in Boston
The Class A & B office space in Boston has never been closer than what we are experiencing now. The rents low rise Class A and Class B are near identical with the differentiators being loss factor, amenities and fit up from union versus nonunion general contractors.

Click to download the full  Rising Market report.

0 Verizon to Open Cambridge Co-Working Office Space

cambridge shared office space from Verizon

Credit: BBJ

Your phone provider could be your new office landlord. Verizon is dipping into the market by converting former telecommunication space to office space and partnering with Alley to run it.

From Bizjournals.com:

“Alley, powered by Verizon,” the new membership-only, 10,000-square-foot space in Cambridge is scheduled to open at the end of June at 10 Ware St. The facility served as a central office for Verizon (NYSE: VZ) that previously housed network and telecommunications equipment.

0 Cambridge Foundry Building on Rogers Street Eyed for Redevelopment

Foundary Building at 101 Rogers Street in Cambridge

Credit: Wicked Local

The City of Cambridge has plans for the Foundry Building at 101 Rogers Street.

According to an article on Wickedlocal, “the redevelopment plans call for five high-traffic “destination spaces,” including a redesigned lobby, a black box theater/assembly hall, a community room, a kitchen and a workshop and five flexible “interstitial spaces” with classrooms, multi-purpose rooms, studios, a gallery and a mix of nonprofit and for profit office space.”

You can read the full article on Cambridge.Wickedlocal.com

Available Office Space
Cambridge office space for lease

0 Analog Devices Moves ‘Innovation Lab’ to Downtown Boston, Triples office space

Oxford Properties 125 Summer Street is new home for Analog Devices innovation lab. Citing ease-of-access to public transportation as a key influencer in its decision to move to 125 Summer Street in Boston’s Financial District.

Analog garage cambridge

Credit: Bizjournals

From the BBJ:

Analog Devices Inc. is more than tripling the size of its startup incubator and emerging technologies lab in a move from Cambridge to downtown Boston — an expansion that will allow the Norwood-based multinational semiconductor company to hire an additional 80 to 140 workers for its emerging-technology group.

The [125 Summer St.] office provided the best mix of easy access to both the MBTA Red Line — a must for a company with roots at MIT, and an employee base that lives in Somerville and Cambridge — as well as what O’Doherty called the burgeoning startup culture of both downtown and the Seaport.

0 Co-working Office Space Portends Modern Commercial Real Estate

WeWork Boston

WeWork

It is clear, Co-working is a valuable resource when launching a company.  Depending on, in part your age, or size of your company, shared space is by far changing the traditional office environment. No longer are we a society of cubes and offices; we now have huddle rooms, phone booths, collaboration stations and quiet spaces.

There’s a variety of co-working options and environments available to applicable enterprises; for instances, at WeWork businesses can receive the following:

HOT DESK
A shared workspace in a common area. When you purchase a Hot Desk, there is no need to reserve a particular workspace in advance each day; you can come and go as needed and use any available desk.

This plan includes access to our digital Member Network, events, and services, 24/7 keycard access at your home location, as well as 2 monthly credits for reserving workspaces and conference rooms.

DEDICATED DESK
An assigned desk space in a large open area shared with other members. This dedicated space comes with a lockable filing cabinet for your personal belongings. Desktops may be set up and left overnight. This plan includes access to our digital Member Network, events, and services, 24/7 keycard access at your home location, as well as 5 monthly credits for reserving workspaces and conference rooms.

PRIVATE OFFICE
A fully enclosed, lockable office space. Your company can add on more offices as you grow. This plan includes access to our digital Member Network, events, and services, 24/7 keycard access at your home location, as well as monthly credits for reserving workspaces and conference rooms that correlate with your office size (minimum of 12 credits for a 1 person office).

You can read more on the Daily Free press website.

0 Mass Jobless Rate Dips to 15-Year Low

commercial development in Boston

Credit: Bizjournals

“Make it in Massachusetts”  Our economy is strong, companies are hiring, and we have achieved a new low; the lowest unemployment rate since 2001.

According to the BBJ, “Massachusetts’ total unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent in August from the previous month’s 4.1 percent — a new low that hasn’t been seen since 2001 — according to the state…Preliminary estimates showed the state gained 5,900 jobs over the month, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported.”

Further details are available on the Boston Business Journal’s website, here.

0 Cambridge Office Building Slated for 145 Broadway in Kendall Sq.

Kendall Square office building

Credit: Boston Globe

The E. Cambridge office market will continue to grow with a 454,000 square-foot project from Boston Properties. Currently that market is just under 12M Square-feet of Class A project with vacancy under 5%.

According to the Boston Globe, “the Cambridge Planning Board next month will consider Boston Properties’ designs for a 454,000 square-foot, 19-story, office building at 145 Broadway. It’s the first phase of nearly 1 million square feet of new development that Boston Properties is planning on land it owns along Broadway and Binney Street in the booming biotech district. Later phases include more office space and a large apartment and condo building that would reach as high as 34 stories.”

Additional details are available on the Boston Globe website.

0 Cambridge Company Debuts Self-Driving Taxis

Self Driving taxi from Cambridge start-up

Credit: Boston Globe

They might be driven in Singapore, but a small start-up at 1 Broadway in East Cambridge, nuTonomy Inc., has designed the control software to facilitates self-driving taxi cabs.

From the Boston Globe:

“This is the world’s first public trial of robo-taxi service,” said nuTonomy cofounder and chief executive Karl Iagnemma. “This is the start of what’s going to be a technology revolution.”

NuTonomy is providing the control software guiding the six taxicabs that debuted in Singapore, modified electric cars from French automaker Renault and Japan’s Mitsubishi. Each vehicle uses lasers and cameras to observe its surroundings and steer through Singapore’s business district. An engineer from nuTonomy was in the front seat, ready to take control if necessary, and a researcher in the rear monitored the cars’ computers.

0 Boston Ranks Among Top Office Markets in U.S.

rendering of 130-140 northern avenue office building

Credit: Bizjournals.com

Boston ranks 6th nationally for office vacancy.

According to a report on the BBJ, “at 12 percent vacancy, Boston’s office market dipped by 1.2 percent year-over-year and was the sixth-tightest in the U.S., the report said. New York and Washington, D.C. ranked as the tightest office markets, each with 9.1 percent vacancy, followed by San Francisco at 10.2 percent and Seattle at 10.9 percent.”

Additional details are available on its website, here.