0 Boston Ranks 2nd in Tech Employment, VC Funding

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Wil Catlin

office space on JFK blvd in Cambridge MA

Office building at 30 John F Kennedy Boulevard, Cambridge

The greater Boston market is strong for tech jobs and VC funding into tech company. When clients as why the rapid rent growth from 2010 to now? Supply and demand to the absorption by venture backed tech companies.

According to a report in the Boston Business Journal, “Boston with its more than 145,000 tech jobs trails only Silicon Valley in terms of total high-tech employment, noting that Greater Boston experienced a 4.3 percent growth in high-tech jobs over the year. Silicon Valley had year-over-year tech-related job growth of 5.2 percent and employed a little over 213,000 people in the industry, the report noted. But the results aren’t much of a change from last year’s report, which stated that the Boston area was No. 2 in terms of tech jobs and No. 4 in venture funding…The Boston area also scored big in venture funding during the second quarter of this year, accumulating a total of $441.6 million in funding during the time period, according to the report. San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Manhattan all snagged more venture capital funding than the Boston area.”

The full article is available on the BBJ website.

0 Full Block of East Cambridge Office Space Eyed

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Wil Catlin

East Cambridge lab space continues to be sought over by some heavyweights in the life sciences. The BBJ is reporting that “Bristol-Myers Squibb is on the hunt for up to 200,000 square feet of office and lab space in Cambridge, the latest major life sciences firm to crowd into one of the hottest commercial real estate markets in the country…the New York-based pharmaceutical giant, which already occupies 60,000 square feet of space in Waltham as well as 400,000 square feet in Devens, is targeting new research and administrative space in East Cambridge’s Kendall Square neighborhood, home to some of the biggest drug and technology developers in the world.”

Additional details are available on the Boston Business Journal

0 Kendall Square Office and Lab Space in High Demand

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Wil Catlin

office space on binney street in east cambridge

Credit: BBJ

East Cambridge is host to some of the best know pharma and tech companies. Lab space has become a very limited commodity and Amgen is in the hunt for 150k RSF. According to CoStar the lab vacancy rate among the 17 buildings is 7.1 percent on a direct basis or 17.3 percent including sublets.

The BBJ puts the competitive Kendall Square real estate market in perspective:

The East Cambridge office and research market includes only 6.4 million square feet — meaning…three deals alone could lock up about 10 percent of the neighborhood’s entire inventory when all is said and done. The activity, along with strong leasing among major information-technology players, is fueling a pricing surge in East Cambridge that has seen average annual rents surpass $58 per square foot, by far the highest in the region and among the highest for any neighborhood in the country, according to market data provided by Cassidy Turley in Boston.

The full article is available on the Boston Business Journal, here.

0 Google Opens New Cambridge Office

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BetaBoston

“Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful,” and with that, their new office in Cambridge inspire. The following are the 10 items about Google philosophy, and some things to think about as you type in your next query:

1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.

2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well.

3. Fast is better than slow.

4. Democracy on the web works.

5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.

6. You can make money without doing evil.

7. There’s always more information out there.

8. The need for information crosses all borders.

9. You can be serious without a suit.

10. Great just isn’t good enough.

Interior of Google's cambridge office in Kendall Square

Credit: BetaBoston

Betaboston offers a report on the opening of Google’s new Cambridge offices:

“Google opened up its new offices in Cambridge today which connects three Cambridge Centers into one expansive campus sitting above Kendall Square. The key space in the complex is the (somewhat controversial) “Connector” built across the once fully public rooftop garden between Four and Five Cambridge Center.”

0 Kendall Square and Cambridge Office Space: Cost Continues to Climb

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ/bizjournals

The price of office space in the Boston Market continue to ratchet up and squeeze out those who signed their lease in the recent downturn. Rents in Kendall Sq. have continued to climb due to limited supply and large national tech firms wanting to be there. Small firms are finding opportunities a couple of stops away on the Red Line’s Downtown Crossing stop, where the Class B market is pricing in the low to mid $30’s PSF.

A report in the Boston Business Journal offers some quantification for the pace of office space transactions in Cambridge and Kendall Square, noting “data from Cassidy Turley reveals that 323,135 square feet of space was absorbed in Cambridge’s already tight office market between Jan. 1 and June 30, while average rents in the life sciences and technology hub increased by 14 percent on a year-over-year basis…according to the report, office availability in Cambridge fell to 10.5 percent in the second quarter while average rents rose to $50.33 per square foot, up from about $44 a year earlier. The city’s office market is comprised of approximately 10 million square feet of leasable space.”

You can read the full article on the BBJ’s website, Bizjournals.

0 A Universal Trend in Workplace Design

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: hok.com

A recent hok.com article on workplace design informs a trend all real estate professionals are seeing. The question is no longer just “how many SF and how long of a term do you need?” It is now, “what do your employees want, what type of environment helps you as the CEO of your company recruit, retain and maximize your talent and production within the space?”

From hok’s Top Trends Influencing Workplace Design:

“People Matter! If there is one macro-trend that encompasses all of the trends listed here, it would be the growing emphasis on people. Workplace design and strategy can play a huge role in helping to maximize the comfort and performance of occupants. Engaging with employees on how the workplace can best support them is a great way to start.”

0 Cambridge Office Building at 90 Hamilton St. Sells for $2.6M

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Wil Catlin

office space at 90 Hamilton Street in Cambridge MA

Credit: Banker & Tradesman

Boston Realty Advisors capital markets team completes another sale transaction. 90 Hamilton Street is located in Cambridge, MA.

From Banker & Tradesman:

“MRH Hamilton LLC of Brookline bought a 7,800-square-foot office building 90 Hamilton St. in Cambridge for $2.6 million…The parcel is suitable for use as an investment property or redevelopment for a variety of commercial or residential uses, according to Boston Realty Advisors.”

You can read the complete B&T article, here

0 Boston Commercial Real Estate: Rife with Office Space Renovations

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Office building at 230 Congress Street

Landlords in Boston continue to make considerable upgrades to their buildings as part of the ongoing courting process for new tenants. Beacon Capital has continuously made improvements to its Boston assets such as 1 Financial Center, and the newly acquired 230 Congress Street.

Another recent renovation is 177 Huntington Ave., following the departure of Wayfair. A Banker and Tradesman article notes some of the buildings modifications:

“To reposition 177 Huntington for new tenants, Beacon installed new art and signs and LED news strips in the elevator bays. On Monday, Varano Group will open a Caffe Strega breakfast and lunch cafe in the lobby. The owners wanted a name-brand restaurant operator to set the lobby apart, Gratton said.”

0 Boston Emerges as State’s Tech Startup Hub

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Has Boston really become the state’s capital for startups? Well yes. This came to be for two primary reasons; public access and cost of real estate. Downtown Crossing, DTX, is serviced by the T’s Red, Green Orange and Blue lines. Combined with the Silver Line and a short walk from South Station it offers employers a great recruiting tool as they vie for new talent.

Economics. Plain and simple. DTX is the last real value play within the Class B market and is what most startups are seeking. Opportunities can still be achieved with in the upper $20’s PSF while most buildings are pricing in the low to mid $30’S PSF.

Click to view or download as a high resolution pdf

The Boston Globe’s niche online business publication, betaboston.com, notes the following:

Last year…Boston accomplished a previously unheard of feat in the tech world by having more venture capital deals than Cambridge — for years the center of gravity of the startup scene in Massachusetts. And a large number of those deals went to companies located outside the Innovation District, in neighboring business zones such as the Financial and Leather districts and Downtown Crossing.

0 Boston Office Space 2013: Year End Review

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Boston’s Financial District attracted positive demand in 2013 as Class B properties and Class A commodity space continue to benefit from the lack of prime availability. Tenants flocked to the Financial District from supply constrained markets like East Cambridge, the Back Bay and Seaport. This demand saw year over year rents increase in excess of 20% in the Class B market. Many Landlords are capturing this demand by proactively renovating and upgrading suites to open concept, spec suites that offer today’s tenants ready-to-go spaces with more flexible lease commitments. The red line continues to be the main driver and 2014 is poised to see a true renaissance of Boston Downtown Crossing neighborhood. Boston’s transportation hub is spurred by the new Millennium Tower redevelopment of the Filene’s Basement site. This area will continue its transformation as a hub for new and emerging companies. Expect rising rental rates and continued demand to drive some Class B building owners to complete capital improvement projects and upgrade second generation spaces to compete for tenants.

Boston office space price over past 5 years

Credit: CoStar

Vacancy & Rental Rates: Overall 2013 saw tenants absorb over 1,000,000 SF square feet of commercial office real estate in Boston’s Central Business District. The Class B office market in particular saw 322,258 SF of absorption in 2013 bringing the vacancy rate to 8.0 percent. This trend of positive absorption has continued over the last 8 quarters resulting in the increase of asking lease rates for class B product to an average asking rate of $31.08 per rentable square foot. Supply constrained markets like the Back Bay and Seaport continue to impact market fundamentals by increasing demand in other areas of the city like the Financial District resulting in further recovery in rental rates reviling pre-recession pricing of early 2008.

Demand Driver: Class B real estate activity provided a look into the dynamics of the Boston economy and leasing activity suggests that Boston is not slowing down and expected to continue with compound annual rent increases excess of 10 percent through 2015. As the value play alternative, the Class B Financial District market continued capitalizing on rising Class A rents combined with limited supply in the Seaport, Back Bay and East Cambridge. This is most evident within the Financial District where tenants seeking value have poured into buildings with great T access like Downtown Crossing.

Outlook: Healthy fundamentals persist in submarkets like the Back Bay, Cambridge and the Seaport District and demand appears to be spilling into neighboring submarkets. Continued growth and positive indicators seen regionally mixed with the most optimistic confirmation of stock market and national employment data seen since 2007 suggests further gains in employment and real estate occupancy in coming quarters. With some of the regions most desired locations becoming market wide choice-constricted and no speculative construction underway market wide, many expanding tenants will increasingly consider peripheral locations and other creative solutions with rent levels adjusting to changing demand trends.