0 Downtown Crossing Poised for Another Triumph

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Bisnow

This is not the first period of growth or transformation for DTX, also known as Downtown Crossing. In 1979, Washington Street was made into a pedestrian-only roadway following the success of Faneuil Hall Marketplace. This resulted in a modest decline following the popularity of the vending cart program.

The fate of the neighborhood, now, seems set for a steep incline:

Bisnow states, “$210M Millennium Place mixed-use residential project that opened Q2 last year tested how housing would fare in the heart of this commercial neighborhood. All of its 256 condos sold by year-end priced from $550k to $3.5M. As one of the first Boston condo developments to be completed since the recession, it showed that buyers would put down stakes in the CBD, permanently changing the character of the historic neighborhood.”

A more detailed history on Downtown Crossing is available in the Bisnow article.

0 A Look Inside the MassChallenge Workspace (video)

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

What does today’s innovative office space look like? Well MassChallenge has moved into their new offices in Jamestown’s building at 21 Drydock in the Seaport area of Boston. Have a look at cool creative space designed to allows today’s innovators creates tomorrow’s new technology.

The Boston Business Journal describes the accelerator’s move, “Boston-based startup accelerator MassChallenge has officially moved from One Marina Park Drive to 21 Drydock Avenue, in the Innovation and Design Building. Over 100 startups will work in the new place from June 23, kicking off the fifth MassChallenge accelerator program.”

0 Downtown Crossing Transformation Nears Completion

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

construction in Boston's downtown crossing

Credit: NY Times

Live, work & play. Downtown crossing is in the final phase of its transformation. 23 years ago I moved back to Boston from California and took the T to Park Street and walked to Milk Street daily. At that time you could still buy a suit at Filene’s Basement. Over those years we have seen retailers come and go and some shuttered buildings evolve to residential buildings. Now, we are seeing the area become a destination location for office workers priced out of E. Cambridge, but wish to maintain Red Line access. 1,000 new housing units are coming online and the repurposing of the Daniel H. Burnham building into offices for Arnold Communications.

A national voice on Downtown Crossing, the NY Times, describes “some $4 billion in private investment over the last decade is finally stoking the long-neglected district with both a new attitude and fresh appeal. Developers are rapidly reinventing Downtown Crossing as an upscale residential neighborhood filled with stores, restaurants and cafes catering to students and young professionals.”

The NYT article is available online: New Energy Rouses Boston’s Downtown Crossing

0 Boston Micro Hotel Made to Fit Along Seaport Boulevard

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: The Boston Globe

What’s new coming to the Seaport? Micro rooms. Yes, soon you will be able to get a hotel room that is about half the standard size. The location is will be along Seaport Boulevard near the Barking Crab.

From The Boston Globe:

“John B. Hynes III is proposing to develop a Yotel, whose rooms — Yotel calls them “cabins” — have set a new benchmark for efficiency from London to New York to Amsterdam…The rooms in Boston would range between 160 and 200 square feet, Hynes said, or roughly half the sizeof traditional rooms at the nearby Westin Waterfront. The 307-room Yotel is to be built along Seaport Boulevard, across from the John Joseph Moakley US Courthouse.”

0 Back Bay-to-Logan Shuttle Launched for Boston Commuters

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Logan to Back Bay Shuttle launched to ease traffic at airport

Credit: Boston.com

Looking for new ways to get to Back Bay? Massport believes that their new shuttle from Logan to Back Bay will provide an alternative to the T or Taxi service.

Details on the shuttle from Baker & Tradesman:

“The Back Bay Logan Express service started Monday and will run every 20 minutes from the airport to Hynes Convention Center and Copley station on the MBTA’s Green Line, Massport announced today. The 42-foot bus will stop at all Logan terminals on the departure level and pick up passengers on the arrival levels…The service will run from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Back Bay and 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Logan, and cost $5, payable with a debit or credit card, or free for riders with an MBTA pass. Massport estimates ridership at 1,400 passengers a day.”

The full article is available on the B&T website.

0 What Does Cool, Funky Office Space in Back Bay Look Like?

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Workbar

What does cool funky space look like, or better yet how does it feel? The virtue of my business is to walk in and out of company offices daily and I must say that this one grabbed my attention as cool and funky. It isn’t so much as to the building or layout, but the culture that the company extends to its employees and customers.

Bostinno.streetwise.co articulates this quality in its assessment of Karmaloop’s ‘swagged out’ Back Bay office space:

“Karmaloop stickers bearing the company’s classic chunky logo in all prints and colors sit in neat piles atop a coffee table. A giant-sized, glittering mannequin sits with plastic legs crossed coquettishly on one of the entryway’s couches, while another figure, a frightening yet sort of high fashion clown marionette, looms over the space. Both were crafted by ecommerce company’s outspoken founder and CEO, and proud Bostonian Greg Selkoe.”

Let us know your definition of cool, funky office space in the comments below, or on twitter @bradviors

To read the full bostinno article, follow this link.

0 Office space for the Modern Company

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker & Tradesman

What does creative space look like to up-and-coming startups? In short, it’s a collaborative environment with as much natural light as possible. Young companies need to provide an attractive work atmosphere for new hires, while offering something refreshing to their existing workforce.

For example, Tim Coburn, CEO of Boston startup Jebbit, in an article for Banker & Tradesman, wrote:

“Fostering collaboration: We really wanted something open and the tower of the Landmark building, where we are now located, offered 360 views of the city, big windows, bright light and open space – it was so different from everything else we looked at. It didn’t feel like a “classic office” and for us, that fit. Today we have orange bean bag chairs in the middle, for group meeting or conversation, and it’s wide open with a lot of desks around windows. White boards everywhere help us brainstorm on the spot.”

Tim Coburn’s article is published on Banker & Tradesman, here.

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.

0 TD Towers Seeks to Elevate Boston Skyline

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Is the TD Towers too tall for the neighborhood? Well, yes and no, Boston is growing and new projects need height to make them work. The low-rise buildings that were constructed during the early part of the last century are a thing of the past.

Credit: Boston Magazine

Boston Magazine recently reported on a controversy surrounding the proposed size of TD Towers, noting “the project opens the door to many more like it, which would turn the West End into another skyscraper orchard. It’s not hard to see where they’re coming from. When you compare the project with towers elsewhere in Boston, it fits right in. But as you can see above, it will dwarf its neighbors in the West End.”

The full Boston Magazine article can be found, here.

0 87 Summer Street office space: affordable Downtown Boston option?

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Office building on Summer Street in Boston

Credit: Loopnet

Boston Realty Advisors represent the 2,162 RSF on the Mezzanine level of 87 Summer Street that is priced in the mid to upper $20’s. This building is owned and managed by Synergy Investments that controls in excess of 3.5 M RSF of Class B product in Boston.

In the heart of Downtown Boston, 87 Summer Street offers cool collaborative space with full floor identities. This property offers Verizon & Comcast with high speed connectivity, and many other local amenities.

87 Summer Street is located within the Downtown Crossing Business Improvement District. Just a short walk to public transportation such as the Red, Orange & Green Line T stops, along with the commuter rail at South Station. There is also a wealth of parking within the area.