0 Range of Boston Offices Considered for GE HQ

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

The selection for GE’s site didn’t come without evaluating many other options that ranged from Back Bay to North Station.

From the BBJ:

Boston officials initially considered 20 development sites, both a mix of private and publicly owned buildings and land parcels, to pitch to GE. And first on the list that Boston officials considered was Fort Point’s “100 Acres Area” — a master-planned effort to transform the existing surface parking lots around the Procter & Gamble/Gillette plant, and GE’s ultimate final choice for its permanent headquarters locations.

The sites were eventually narrowed to seven final options, five of which were located in the Seaport District, in a Dec. 1 pitch book to GE (NYSE: GE) executives. GE’s ultimate choice for a headquarters — a 2.5-acre plot on the Fort Point Channel owned by Procter & Gamble Co. — was not highlighted in the final pitch book.

0 Clover to Open Restaurant at 160 Federal Street

Posted on February 21, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

Clover is taking on more bricks and mortar with their recent lease signing of retail space at 160 Federal Street at the corner of Federal and High Street. The building has recently been acquired by Beacon Capital.

According to the BBJ, the “long-vacant retail space [is] located less than half a mile from Clover’s recently opened brick-and-mortar location at 27 School St. and its Dewey Square food truck spot…The ground-floor location at the corner of Federal and High streets spans 2,797 square feet has been vacant since American Express vacated the space in 2013. It’s currently being built out for Clover and will be ready for occupancy by spring or summer, said Dave Downing, director of leasing and development for GraffitoSP who handles retail leasing at 160 Federal St.”

The full Boston Business Journal article is available on the BBJ website.

0 Boston Office Market Maintains Impressive Growth

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: JLL

Office rents continue Northward while vacancy works Southward in Boston’s office Market. We will continue to see rent growth through 2016 as tenants continue to demand more space.

According to Globest, “the strong job market is fueling tenant demand and positive space absorption in Boston and surrounding areas such as Cambridge and the Route 128 markets. The office vacancy rate for Greater Boston ended 2015 at 12.1%, virtually flat as compared to year’s-end 2014. The average vacancy rate for 2015 was 12.2%, the lowest rate since 2002. Class A asking rents in the region rose to $42.06-per-square-foot. Asking rents haven’t been that high since 2002, Transwestern reports.”

You can read the full article on its website.

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 Boston Office Rents Hit Decade High

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts holds a few distinctions aside from high office rents and expensive homes; Massachusetts is the highest educated state, and as such, holds the potential to attract top talent.

According to the BBJ, “rents for large office space in Greater Boston hit their highest levels in at least a decade in the fourth quarter of 2015, with the vacancy rate dropping to its lowest level since 2007…The total vacancy rate fell to 13.8 percent from 14.3 percent the previous quarter.”

You can read the full article, here.

0 Map of Boston Coworking Office Space

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Coworking office space in Boston by geographic location, courtesy of Xconomy:

map of boston and cambridge shared office space

Credit: Xconomy

Andy Palmer, a Boston serial entrepreneur and angel investor, ‘thinks Boston would be best served by a series of spaces spread among different neighborhoods along the subway system’s Red Line, which touches the city’s busiest startup hubs, including Kendall Square in Cambridge and the Seaport District and Downtown Crossing in Boston. And if you look at the map, that strategy seems to be playing out…Boston’s neighborhoods “all need good, solid coworking spaces because they all have startups and founders that want to do startups in these areas,” Palmer says. “It’s healthy to have these short-term lease options in every one of these areas.”’

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 Bulfinch Triangle Parcel Near North Station Acquired for $24.5M

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker and Tradesman

Dollars keep coming into Boston’s Class A and B markets. The latest is into the North Station market by Bridgeton for $24.5M. Office Rents in the Class B market are hovering around the $40 mark depending on timing, term and T/I.

A B&T article reports, “New York-based private equity fund Bridgeton Holdings has acquired a hotel and retail building across from the TD Garden for $24.5 million…The five-story, 54,000-square-foot building is located at the corner of Causeway and Friend streets. Ground-floor tenants include Qdoba, North Station Liquors and the Ace Tickets studio used for Celtics pre- and post-game shows on Comcast SportsNet.”

You can read additional information, on B&T, here.

0 Seaport Square Moves into Next Phase of Development

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Overhead rendering of Seaport Square in Boston

Credit: BBJ

What changes are occurring in the Seaport Square area of Boston?

According to the BBJ, “the original 23-acre Seaport Square master plan was approved back in 2010….for [a] residential component [that] included plans for two 550,000-square-foot towers. But the design has since changed to three 350,000-square-foot towers with a large-scale public plaza, which architects Kohn Pederson Fox Associates of New York say could mark a “turning point” for the neighborhood.”

The Bizjournals site has also posted a video reviewing the current design plans for Boston’s Seaport Square.

0 Free Office Space in Boston for Select Irish Start-ups

Posted on September 6, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Silicon Republic

Irish entrepreneurship is alive and strong within greater Boston. Launch Space is the launch pad for Irish based companies looking to expand into the U.S. marketplace.

From Silicon Republic:

“The Netwatch Launch Space is about creating a connected community of Irish companies who can support each other as they seek to build their business here,” said David Walsh, CEO of Netwatch…Netwatch made the move in 2011 and we can give other Irish companies a real insight into our experience of setting up a base in the US, introduce them to our own network of clients and contacts, including legal, financial and marketing advisers to ease their entry into what is a huge and varied market.”