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.”

0 Cambridge Office Rents Continue to Climb

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker and Tradesman

The torch gets passed to Kendall Square with office rents in Cambridge skyrocketing, and one market expected to climb even higher. Kendall is the spot to be for blue chip tech companies, but why – is it the view of the Boston Skyline? No, simply put it’s Harvard and MIT that are the attraction. Companies want to attract top talent and want to associate with these prestigious institutions any way they can.

Banker and Tradesman is reporting “building owners in the lab- and office-packed Cambridge neighborhood [of Kendall Square] are quoting $80 a square foot for prime space…[while] the vacancy rate for office space in the Cambridge neighborhood is a practically air-tight 0.6 percent.”

More information on the demand trends of Kendall Square office space is available on B&T’s website.

0 BBJ Interviews Kenneth Goldberg of Bernkopf Goodman

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

A true professional; I have had the opportunity to sit across from Ken and I appreciate his perspective, approach and candor.

The BBJ published a riveting interview with Ken Goldberg that I compel you to read: Outside the Box: Kenneth Goldberg of Bernkopf Goodman.

Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

“Is there anything else that might surprise people about you? There are a lot of people who are a whole lot smarter and I work hard to make up for that. I might be up all night or well into the night to prep for a meeting — just to be fully prepared. I come across on the ball and in command. But I prepare so that I’m the best prepared in the group.”

0 Boston Office Market is Positioned for Continued Growth

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Wil Catlin

The Boston office and retail market is expected to continue its upward march.

Credit: multihousingnews.com

According to an editorial on MultiHousingNews.com, “developers completed approximately 4.2 million square feet of office space over the last 12 months as compared to merely 1.4 million square feet in the previous year. Around 5.2 million square feet currently under construction in the metro area is expected to come online throughout 2016. According to Marcus & Millichap, approximately 3.2 million square feet of office space is set for completion by the end of 2014—a 1 percent increase from 2013—with new inventory being heavily concentrated in the Boston/Suffolk County and Route 128 North submarkets.”

For a detailed indicator of the Boston office market direction, jump over to the MultiHousingNews website.

0 Office Rent Increases Expected in Prime Boston Locations

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Wil Catlin

If you need more space or if your lease is near the end of the term, now is the time to secure office space in Boston. Buildings are trading hands and the new owners will be looking for a return on their investment and will push rents. In 2007 when Blackstone bought Equity, rents rose 44 percent and other landlords followed suit.

A report on nerej suggests an optimistic future for landlords; “all signs are in place for another major rent move rivaling The Blackstone Effect of 2007. As of Q2 2014 when everything started, vacancy for class A and B buildings in core downtown Boston (defined as Back Bay, Seaport and CBD) was at 8.4%. In Q4 2006, vacancy was at 8.3%. In Q2 2014 average rent for Boston’s core downtown market was $50.32 per s/f; this is $8.56 per s/f higher than Q4 2006…The momentum in the market is similar to 2007. Based on 2007 actual experience, and a move similar to 2007, it would be reasonable to see a “rent pop” up to the $70 per s/f level for core assets. 2007 peaked at $60.15 per s/f. 2015-2016 should add another $10 per s/f, which would result in average rent of $70.15 per s/f during the next 2 years.”

More information is available on the nerej website, here.

0 Collaborative Office Space Trending in Cambridge

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Bring the walls down and let’s see and hear each other. That is the new norm is office space, gone are the vast array of private offices. Today’s office layout is vastly different than just 10 years ago; today’s employees can expect to work in a benching platform, sitting very close to their coworkers. Their work station would have very little is any actual storage space and in some case may not even have land line if the role of that person is non customer related. The big delta is common space, this looks more like a large family room.

Credit: Boston.com

In an interview with Boston.com, Swedish architect, Gert Wingårdh, said “his [newest] design is aimed at improving company communications, a problem many businesses identify with. ‘Usually our surveys tell us that communications is lacking all over the world,’ said Wingårdh. ‘When employees have the same space to share, it enhances their sense of one another.’ With no walls between workstations, Wingårdh says employees will become aware of each other. At EF, even the CEO works in an open workstation.”

0 Kendall Square Open Space and Design Competition Announces Finalists

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Wil Catlin

How does your open space rank amongst your peers in East Cambridge/Kendall? Interested in learning more, come to the open forum.

“The competition, sponsored by the City’s Community Development Department, is an opportunity to plan a vision for the entire open space network in Kendall Square and eastern Cambridge and vicinity. The city is looking for unique approaches to open space planning and design,” notes WickedLocal.

You can read more about the competition at www.ConnectKendallSquare.com.

0 Boston Office Motif is Open and Shared

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: The Boston Globe

The look and feel of today’s office space is dramatically different than what we saw just 10 years ago. Collaborative is the new norm and private offices are a thing of the past. Gone is the bowling alley of offices replaced by open spaces with exposed ceilings.

Drawing a parallel between the modern workspace and online social behavior, the Boston Globe notes, “in a fast-paced high-tech world where community seems to be more valued than privacy, the office partitions have come down in the name of collaboration and quick exchange…Offices are being designed to offer slightly cramped but open spaces to create “collision zones” for employees, where conversations get started and ideas get hatched. Status-based work areas have gotten the pink slip as companies envision cross-departmental, even cross-industry alliances. And why have a meeting around a gigantic table when you and a few co-workers can set up shop in a booth — not so different from one at Denny’s. Sound much different from your office? Just wait.”

The Boston Globe article is comprehensive and worthy of a read; it’s available on the Globe’s online real estate section.

0 Boston Commercial Real Estate Trends towards Open Floor Plans and Collaborative Workspaces

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Organizations are knocking down interior office walls faster than you can spell “collaboration.”

Boston Realty Advisors estimates more than 75% of tenants today are looking for open floor plans, as opposed to traditional layouts with closed-door offices and high-walled cubicles. The trend for open offices is giving fresh legs to a proven phenomenon. Many organizations site open floor plans as a core element to their company ethos and ultimately, a key reason for their success. Zappos, for example, credits its open floor plan as a critical element to establishing and maintaining its culture. From a few employees 15 years ago, to more than 1,500 today, Zappos has maintained its open floor plan throughout the company’s history.

The push to open floor plans isn’t just for employees and middle management. In fact, many CEOs are leading the charge. By placing themselves alongside the team, the benefits are clear: increased availability, greater transparency and a heightened awareness to company culture and communication. The tired corporate adage, “My door is always open,” pales in comparison to today’s mantra, “I don’t have a door to close.”

Wayfair, the Boston-based online home furnishings company, proudly describes its collaborative C-suite structure. “At Wayfair, there are no corner offices. In fact, there are no offices at all. We support an open, transparent workplace where leaders mentor the 1,600+ bright talents that sit among them – and visa versa.”

Another organization, The Bridgespan Group, detailed their journey from a traditional office environment to a new, open floor plan. Their tale serves as a playbook for organizations considering an open floor plan:

·         Open café to bring colleagues together
·         Laboratory space for teams to meet and brainstorm
·         Library-like space for quiet work
·         Comfortable seating areas for small-group meetings
·         Private rooms for private conversations
·         Sitting and standing work stations for day-to-day use
·         Glass-walled conference rooms for full transparency
·         Noise dampening techniques to muffle distinct words
·         Lockers for personal items

So, get out that sledgehammer and start creating a vision for a collaborative work environment.

Alternatively, follow the link to our property pages to view available Boston Commercial Real Estate.

0 Strong Demand Keeps Boston Office Rents Rising

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Office Building in Demand: 121 High Street in Boston’s financial district (click for property details)

Today there are fewer options for office tenants to occupy, along with with increased office rents. Combine this with additional tenant improvement dollars that have been pushed downward, and free rent has become obsolete. What does that mean? We are in the midst of a landlord market.

From The Boston Globe:

“Strong growth of technology and financial companies is increasing office rents across the region and fueling proposals for new office buildings from Route 128 to Cambridge and downtown Boston…In Boston, rents for top-rated space ticked up to $51.79. That represents only a slight increase from last year, but several large companies have recently committed to leasing new space in the city, including Natixis Global Asset Management and Sonos Inc., a wireless speaker maker.”

“’A lot of younger workers want to be in the city, and that’s very clearly driving companies’ decisions,’ said Bob Richards, a partner at Transwestern RBJ. ‘That trend is definitely deepening.’”