0 Upgrades Scheduled for Newly Privatized MBTA Station in Back Bay

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Back Bay Station is the 3rd Boston transit hub that has been turned over to the private sector and has some significant deferred maintenance. Boston Properties is doing its part to help bridge the gap.

Credit: Boston Globe

From The Boston Globe:

Just months after signing a $32 million deal to have the real estate giant Boston Properties upgrade the station, the Department of Transportation has agreed to cover six-figure shortfalls in rent from vendors and pay potentially big sums for structural repairs.

The agreement, signed in the closing weeks of the administration of Deval Patrick, calls for Boston Properties to manage the building and renovate the station — installing a new glass facade and windows, updating turnstiles and waiting areas, and bringing in new retail tenants.

In exchange, the company gets the right to build a tower above the station, which opened in 1987.

0 BRA Approves Six Office Building Projects in Boston

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

Six buildings in Boston’s Financial District, Congress Square, are set for complete renovation by Related Beal.

According to the Boston Globe, the BRA approved six projects in total, “the agency gave the go-ahead to some $515.6 million in development…One of the biggest projects is Congress Square, the renovation of an entire city block of buildings in the Financial District, between Congress and Water streets. Developer Related Beal plans to turn six office buildings into a boutique hotel, new housing, and office space…Also approved was Clippership Wharf, which would put 492 apartments and condos on 12 acres on the waterfront in East Boston. Developer Lend Lease plans to move forward on the long-stalled project and won approval to add housing units and subtract parking spaces from a plan approved in 2003.”

You can read the full article on the Boston Globe, here.

0 Boston Experiencing Historic Commercial Building Boom

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Wil Catlin

rendering of office tower at Belvidere and Dalton East

Credit: Boston Globe

The Boston skyline is on the move. A Boston Globe editorial notes, “Boston is in the midst of a building boom never seen in its history, with an influx of new residents and companies giving rise to skyscraping towers, thousands of homes, and retail businesses that are redefining commercial districts citywide.” The Globe followed the article with a list of 50 of the largest development projects organized by expected square feet.

Among these office developments are projects at the Government Center Garage, South Station air rights, Tremont Crossing, and Landmark Center in Fenway.

Jump over to the Globe to read through its complete list of the top Boston Office Developments in progress.

0 226 Causeway Street Sold to Invesco for $92M

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Wil Catlin

The Causeway

Invesco is the new owner of 226 Causeway Street for $476.68 per square foot. Tenants include the following:

• TripAdvisors
• Oxfam America
• Grant Thornton
• Stantec
• Boston Celtics
• March Communications

According to the BBJ, “the property was sold by Spear Street Capital, a real estate investment fund with offices in New York and San Francisco. Spear Street acquired 226 Causeway St. in 2011 for $43 million…First-quarter office rents averaged $32.95 in the North Station neighborhood, with 4.5 percent office vacancy, according to JLL.”

You can read more about the Causeway Street sale on the Boston Business Journal.

0 The Landmark Building at 160 Federal St. Sold to Beacon Capital

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

Beacon Capital continues to add to their portfolio by purchasing 160 Federal Street with is located at the corner of Federal St. and High St.

According to the BBJ, “the deal for the 351,000-square-foot, 24-story Landmark Building “was financed with a $96.2 million mortgage from Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., a separate Suffolk County record shows. The mortgage was executed April 10…Taurus bought 160 Federal St. in April 2007 for $101.4 million, Suffolk County records show.”

Additional details are available on the Bizjournals.com.

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 Parking App Gains Traction in Boston

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Parking in Boston: we need and it and it can be hard to find and expensive. Spot Park puts private parking space owners in touch with those looking to rent them and charges a 15% fee. Boston has been the pilot city and having just raised under $1M Spot Park will be expanding to 7 other U.S. cities.

Founder and CEO Braden Golub notes in the Boston Business Journal that Spot Park “‘now has 14,000 Boston users…this is a perfect test market for us, because Boston is notoriously difficult to find parking in,’ Golub said in an interview. ‘We think if we can make it work here, we can make it work in other cities’…Through its mobile app, the company allows drivers to book and pay for hundreds of Boston-area parking spots available from homeowners and apartment-renters. Spot Park takes a 15 percent cut off of every transaction.”

You can read the full article on the BBJ, here.

0 Fort Point Lease Secured by LogMeIn

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: WikiMedia

Looking to neighbor up with LogMeIn? Score the space on Summer Street between A Street and the Convention Center.

B&T repots, “remote computing company LogMeIn has finalized a 117,000-square-foot lease for 327-335 Summer St. in Boston’s Fort Point beginning Nov. 1…The lease runs 12.5 years with two five-year extension options, according to filings with the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds.”

You can read the article on the Banker&Tradesman website

0 Boston Office Market Ranks Third In Global Rent Growth

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Wil Catlin

view of Boston's office buildings over the water

Credit: Banker&Tradesman

Boston is 3rd in office rent growth for 2014 behind Singapore and San Francisco. The factors that drive Boston are the innovative economy and the extensive university presence. The YE Market Report (link below) goes through the Downtown Class B office market fundamentals.

“According to Banker&Tradesman, Boston ranked first globally with a 34.6-percent increase in capital value growth. Foreign investors drove up prices of the Boston region’s commercial real estate, with investors such as Toronto-based Oxford Properties Group and Norges Bank Investment Management buying trophy office buildings in Boston and Cambridge. The index is designed to identify which cities are changing the fastest by combining real estate data with socioeconomic factors.”

You can download a pdf of the report here: http://www.bostonrealestates.com/reports/year-end-2014/Downtown/YE-MarketReport-Downtown-lo.pdf

0 New Boston Design Center Showrooms Open

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: B&T

After completing $13 million in renovations, Jamestown is proud to announce some new tenants in the Design Center.

From Banker & Tradesman:

Jamestown, a real estate investment and development company headquartered in Atlanta, leases the 550,000-square-foot complex in the 1.4-million-square-foot Innovation and Design Building complex from the city of Boston. The complex contains 550,000 square feet dedicated to luxury home furnishing showrooms along with office and innovation space...Jamestown recently completed more than $13 million in interior renovations at the center, the first major physical updates since it opened in 1985. The project included renovations of the lobby, common spaces and seminar room and new finishes and furniture from design center tenants.