0 Startups Increasingly Priced Out of Cambridge Real Estate

Shared Pharma space at Mass Innovation Labs.

Mass Innovation Labs; Image Courtesy of Crains.

Small to mid-sized tenants need to seek the value play by looking along the Red Line corridor in Downtown Crossing, with rents ranging from the high $20’s to mid-$40’s PSF.

A recent Crains.com article notes, “Smaller companies, however, are feeling the squeeze. The problem is more acute for Boston’s booming biopharma industry than for tech companies…More than 96 percent of Cambridge’s 10.24 million square feet of lab space is occupied, according to an analysis by commercial real estate investor Transwestern.”

You can read more on Crains.

0 Kingston Building a Haven for Startups

Kingston St office space

Credit: Boston Globe

Kingston Street has been a jewel for those tenants seeking a value opportunity with quick access to Downtown Crossing and South Station.

According to the Boston Globe, “Buildings like the Kingston Building ‘really sustain the startup scene,’ says Matt Bellows, chief executive of Yesware, a Boston company that creates software for salespeople. ‘It’s got a great location, nice open space, windows on three sides, and it’s cheap.’ After spending two years in the building, Bellows says, ‘we only moved out when we got over 50 people, and the lines for the two tiny bathrooms became too long.’”

Additional details are included in the full Boston Globe article.

0 Expanded Downtown Crossing Public Plaza Contemplated

Downtown crossing plaza rendering

Credit: BBJ

More “me space” and “we space” is what the city is looking to do in DTX. Space to gather with colleagues or sit alone and update your profile is the aim of the pilot public plaza along Franklin Street and Arch Street.

From the Boston Business Journal:

The Boston Transportation Department on Tuesday morning will temporarily widen sidewalks at Franklin and Arch streets, the first step in a pilot program that will study creating permanent public plaza at the intersection.

“With the T station at Franklin and Washington reopening soon, we know foot traffic will pick up on this street,” said Chris Osgood, the city’s chief of streets, in a statement. “We’re taking a tactical approach to improving this area for pedestrians. In the future we can imagine a whole network of parks and plazas from Shopper’s Plaza to Post Office Square and on to the Greenway.”

0 Office Prices in Downtown Crossing Continue to Grow

Downtown Crossing office space

Credit: Banker and Tradesman

Office trades in the Class A and B segments continue northward with the latest on West Street in Downtown Crossing for $16M.

From Banker&Tradesman:

There’s “another category where they [real estate investors] see potential for price appreciation: class B office buildings…The latest example: 33-41 West St. in Downtown Crossing, a fully-leased leased office building recently acquired by a New York developer for $16 million.

At $472 per foot, it’s one of the highest prices paid for a property in the category, said Robert Tito, a principal with NAI Hunneman in Boston…Built in 1899, the 38,000-square-foot structure was last acquired in 2008 by SMC Management of Watertown for $7.2 million.”

0 Millennium Partners Adds Downtown Crossing Cafè

Boston Burnham Building

Credit: Bizjournals.com

Another caffeine fill up station is coming to Downtown Crossing to serve the ever-growing day and night population.

According to the Boston Business Journal, “Millennium Partners has leased a space in Downtown Crossing’s historic Burnham Building to Caffè Nero, a European coffee house, which will bring the 335,000-square-foot commercial space at the building and the adjacent Millennium Tower to full occupancy…The coffeeshop will be located on Summer Street less than half a mile from Downtown Crossing’s first Caffè Nero, which is located at the base of Millenium Place, another high-end condominium complex developed by Millennium Partners. Caffè Nero also has locations in Jamaica Plain, the South End and the Longwood Medical area.”

You can click through to jump to the BBJ article.

0 Tech Companies Heading to Downtown Boston

downtown crossing offices

Credit: BBJ

Location, Location and Location.  The largest concentration of office space north of NYC is Boston’s Financial District and including in its size is easy access by commuter rail, T, Boat, bus and yes, car.

The tech audience seems most attracted to the proximity to the Red Line; with quick access to E. Cambridge and Kendall Square, and prices that are 10% – 20% less in comparable asset classes, the market’s appeal is strong.

According to the BBJ, “In the city’s post-recession economy, more than 2.1 million square feet of professional services, law firms and consultancies have vacated the traditional downtown neighborhood for a spiffier Innovation District address. But at the same time, some 1.8 million square feet of technology, advertising, media and information-based companies — also known as TAMI tenants — have flooded into downtown and the area around North Station.”

Additional information is available on the Boston Business Journal’s website, here.

Related Available Office Space
Boston financial District office space for lease

0 Downtown Crossing Office Tower would Trump Millennium

One Bromfield office tower in Downtown crossing

Credit: BBJ

Midwood is on the move with a 59-story office tower in Downtown Crossing (DTX) which would surpass Millennium in height. The building would be a combination of residential and retail space.

According to an article on the BBJ, “Midwood originally proposed a 28-story tower on the site in 2008, but the project stalled due to the economic crash…The current iteration of the project is substantially larger than the original proposal. An architectural presentation Midwood will give at the city this week presents plans for a 419-unit, 59-story residential building spanning 605,000 square feet.”

You can more on the DTX tower on the BBJ.

0 Franklin Street in Downtown Crossing is Closed to Vehicles for Year

Downtown Crossing office buildings

Credit: Boston Business Journal

The cost of construction means jobs and detours.  We all see the cranes in the air and the parade to cement mixers on our city streets, now we have one less street to drive on.  Franklin Street will be closed till July of 2016.

An article from the BBJ notes “Pedestrian access will remain open. The Boston Transportation Department suggests the following detour route: right on Hawley Street past 33 Arch St., left on Milk Street past the Old South Meeting House, right on Washington Street, left on Court Street past the Old State House and left on Tremont Street.

“The closure is necessary due to construction activity in the area as well as a roadway reconstruction project,” the city said.

0 Millennium Tower in Downtown Crossing Gets Unique New Restaurant

Millinnium tower restaurant downtown crossing Boston

Credit: Bizjournals.com

What’s for dinner at you new condo in the Millennium Tower in Downtown Crossing? The BBJ had this to say on Millennium Tower’s new restaurant:

The developers of the luxury Millennium Tower in Downtown Crossing have settled on a restaurant to serve the kind of residents who buy units selling for the millions and tens of millions of dollars — the first New England venture by San Francisco chef Michael Mina and sushi chef Ken Tominaga…Mina’s company also will operate the residents-only club in the 685-foot tower…PABU will be an izakaya, which is a casual bar for professionals, essentially, and sushi bar. The opening of the restaurant on the first two floors at the corner of Franklin and Washington streets is set for fall 2016; residents are set to being moving in during the summer of 2016.

0 Downtown Crossing gets a Taste of France

Baked goods have a new meaning at 1 Boston Place.  The 126 year old firm knows a thing or two about macaroons and croissants.

French Restaurant in downtown crossing Boston

Credit: Boston Business Journal

The Boston Business Journal notes, “Paul, a 126-year-old French bakery, is officially opening its Downtown Crossing location at 201 Washington St…The Downtown Crossing location will have a full-service restaurant — a first for the 126-year-old bakery — inside and out on the 50-seat terrace at One Boston Place.”

You can read more about Paul, the newest French restaurant to grace the hub, on the BBJ.