0 MassChallenge Accepts 128 New Startups

boston startup accelerator logoWho are the newest inductees into MassChallenge?  Have a look.

The BBJ remarked on the program’s intrigue, “part of the four-month long no-equity program, startup teams will be granted free office space at MassChallenge’s headquarters in the Seaport and work with expert mentors in the area. Hardware startups will also have access to the MADE@ MassChallenge hardware lab, where they can prototype and manufacture products.”

Jump over to the BizJournals.com website to see the complete list of all 128 startups accepted to the accelerator program.

0 April Fools: Corporate Edition

Boston mad men office design for april fools

Credit: The Boston Globe

April fools isn’t only for the water sprayer at the kitchen sink.  Some of the team at Endeavour Partners in Kendall Square were taken back when they arrived at their office on April 1st.

According to The Boston Globe, an elaborate April Fools’ Day prank was achieved by the office assistants and company chief executive Michael A.M. Davies; “more than a dozen computers and phones were replaced by typewriters, notepads, and rotary phones. Old records and copies of Life magazine were placed around the office, along with a bottle of whiskey for good measure…Neel Desai, an associate consultant, said the gag was indicative of the office culture at the company.”

You can read more about the ruse on The Boston Globe.

0 Boston Greenway will Influence Nearby Office Design

Boston’s Greenway transcends the city’s current incarnation, and will continue to benefit from times gone by. Surrounding buildings will need to create access points to invite visitors to directly access the park and highlight the lush Greenway landscape.

North End Park Boston

Credit: Bostinno.Streetwise

Bostinno.Streetwise articulates how the city’s architecture can grow to accentuate the Greenway in the coming years:

This beautiful Greenway carved through the heart of downtown Boston, building owners, architects and developers should really be thinking about repositioning the front of their buildings toward the “center.” If you walk down the 1.5-acre strip, you will notice that many of the buildings’ entrances are facing opposite the park toward the dark “maze of streets,” limiting options for retail, hospitality and ultimately commerce along this central corridor.

If we turned these buildings around, similar to what happened in P.O. Square and the projects we completed there, the 1 P.O. Square and 225 Franklin Street lobbies, the Greenway could serve as a grassy green extension of our workplace’s front porch.

You can read the full editorial on Bostinno.Streetwise.co.

0 Boston Tech Companies Present Personality

Does your office look like a maze of cubicles, bench seating or that of today’s tech firms?  See how Carbonite has extended their brand onto their walls and doors at their new location?

A Boston Globe article Welcome to the new world of downtown office spaces. As tech firms have migrated into the staid Financial District and nearby environs during the past five years, they’ve done their best to put their unique stamps on work spaces. Goodbye, wood paneling. Hello, Yoda…Their offices have, essentially, become extensions of their brands — physical manifestations of how they view the world, and how they want the world to view them.

You can read the article on the Globe’s website.

 

0 Office Tower Planned at 121 Seaport

seaport office space at 300 A Street

300 A Street office space in Boston Seaport

One of the next major projects to come out of the ground in the Seaport looks to be from developer Skanska.  As office rents continue upward, what tenant will make the migration from E. Cambridge to the Seaport?

From Banker & Tradesman:

“As it finalizes cost estimates for 121 Seaport in Boston, developer Skanska USA is positioning the 425,000-square-foot tower as a rival to Cambridge’s Kendall Square among tech companies looking for build-to-suit sites….Shawn Hurley, executive vice president of Skanska USA Development, said 121 Seaport has a shot at attracting the neighborhood’s next big lab tenant. Vertex Pharmaceuticals was the first major life science company to commit to the South Boston waterfront, moving from Cambridge to a 1.1-million-square-foot headquarters on the Fan Pier in January 2014.”

Related Property Listings
Available office space in Boston Seaport

0 Boston Tops US in CMBS Loans

745 Boylston Street office building in Boston

Office Building at 745 Boylston Street in Copley Sq.

Boston leads New York, D.C., Chicago and L.A. not only in the bid for the 2024 Olympics, but also for CMBS loans.

The Boston Business Journal is reporting the “percentage of Boston-area commercial mortgage backed security real estate loans with late payments is its lowest in months and is among the best in the country, according to new data from real estate information provider Trepp,,,According to Trepp, 2.84 percent of Boston-area CMBS loans were 30 days delinquent or more as of the end of November. A year ago, the rate was 4.02 percent. The decline has been more or less steady, with slight increases a few months…The Boston-area compares especially well with other major U.S markets.

You can find more information on the BBJ’s website.

 

0 LogMeIn Adds Seaport Office Space

Summer St office building

Credit: BBJ

LogMeIn expands in the Seaport.

The BBJ is reporting that LogMeIn “plans to add 450 jobs during the next five years with the help of about $2.5 million in tax breaks from the city. It could begin housing the first crop of new employees at a 100,000-square-foot space at 333 Summer St. in early 2016…It recently struck a tentative agreement with the landlord to take over the vacant space across from its headquarters at 320 Summer St., where the company currently employs 400.”

You can find additional information on the move on the Boston Business Journal.

0 Boston Development Remains Strong into 2015

office development in BostonIn 2014 Boston benefited from some significant growth and 2015 looks to be more of the same.

The Boston Business Journal posted some numbers to illustrate Boston’s 2014 development:

  • $4 billion worth of new construction will have broken ground by Dec. 31, up 16.4 percent from the year before.
  • 7.5 million square feet of total space will have been added.
  • 12,000 construction jobs were supported this year.
  • 3,859 housing units are under construction, on track to meet a target of 53,000 units by 2030.

One of the many contributing areas to the boom is the Boston Innovation District.

0 58-Story Project on Dalton Street to Include two 4 Season’s Hotels

Boston will be home to two 4 Season’s hotels when Carpenter is done with the 58-story project on Dalton Street.

Christian Science plaza development in Boston

Credit: Boston Business Journal

From the BBJ:

Lot 1A is set to be the site of a 58-story tower with a hotel and restaurant as well as apartments, with open space planned for Lot 1B, according to documents filed with the Boston Redevelopment Authority in September 2013…a mid-rise tower is also planned on an adjacent parcel at 30 Dalton St., which an entity of Pritzger Realty Group of Chicago acquired in October for $21.9 million.

0 Weissman: Boston Real Estate Superior to New York

Jason Weissman, founder of Boston Realty Advisors

Credit: Bisnow

Why is Boston better than New York?  Our own Jason Weissman chimes in at a Biznow Event.

From Bisnow:

Boston Realty Advisors founder Jason Weissman says Boston outshines New York because it has less exposure to a downturn in government spending. Based on fundamentals and cash flow, he expects to see lots more property sales in 3% cap rate territory in 2015. Retail and office rents still have room for appreciation and greater cash flow will boost asset values. So much so that investors will start searching for deals in outlier markets, namely I-495 and southern New Hampshire.