Category Archives: Financial District Boston Office Space

0 Millennium Tower Holds Topping Off Ceremony

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view of Millennium Tower mid construction

Credit: BBJ

The city skyline continues to emerge in Downtown Crossing with Millennium having its topping off ceremony.

It seems that, anywhere and everywhere one looks in Boston proper, the canary-yellow construction scaffolding and accompanying crane atop Millennium Tower is visible — peeking out from behind a Financial District building in Post Office Square, rising up behind the Federal Reserve building as one crosses the Summer Street bridge or smack in the middle of the 36th-story view of the Boston College Club at 100 Federal St…The tower celebrates its “topping off” ceremony this Thursday, which marks the end of structural construction. Millennium Tower residents are slated to move in next summer.

You can read the full article and view additional images of Millennium Tower on the Bizjournals website.

0 Boston Developers Eye Financial Tech Sector

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Rendering of modernized Boston Financial District

Credit: Bisnow

The newest Tech-friendly office tower could be a crucial differentiator in Class A Financial District office space, with delivery in 2020.

According to Bisnow, Trans National CEO Steve Belkin and EVP (development) Justin Krebs want to help Boston become a global financial/tech innovation cluster…proposing “a $900M tower downtown that would include an elaborate two-story 22,500 SF Entrepreneurial Innovation Center that’s free to the public. They hope that the space where financial services pros, tech talent and university folk join forces will help elevate Boston’s brand as a global hotbed of financial innovation. Steve, an entrepreneur who’s launched 30 companies of his own, is also answering Mayor Walsh’s call to help make Boston the world’s innovation leader by 2030.

You can read the full article on the Bisnow website.

0 WiredScore Indicates Office Space Connectivity

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230 Congress St. office space for lease

Click on the image to view additional property details for 230 Congress St.

The office tenants in today’s market factor many variables as they narrow down the list of potential locations. Today, one of the top three questions my team hears is connectivity; who’s in the building. Gone are the days of just replying by saying, “A T1.”

Tenants what to know who are all the providers, how is the building’s infrastructure set up to handle loads, and what are the annual costs. Some companies demand dual providers for fault tolerant service. A company that is looking to certify the entire U.S. office market is WiredScore with their certification levels of connectivity.

  • Platinum: Best in class connectivity
  • Gold: Redundant, diverse internet connectivity
  • Silver: Meets needs of most commercial tenants
  • Certified: Meets minimum standards

Beacon Capital of Boston is one of the 1st landlords to certify their entire portfolio. 230 Congress Street is certified platinum.

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Follow the link or click on the image to view the property details and availability for 230 Congress Street.

0 Congress Sq. Project Adds Seven-Story Office Tower in Boston Financial District

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rendering of the new Jewel Box in the Congress Sq. Project

Credit: Bizjournals

The revitalization of the old continues as 40 Water Street makes its debut.

Scott Pollack, principal with Arrowstreet, said in a BBJ article, “It seemed like a real opportunity to serve an interest in the market that otherwise really isn’t being served at the moment.” The block of buildings is situated near Post Office Square, in between Milk Street and State Street — a relatively “dead” block, Pollack said, but one that could be jump-started with new activity…“It is amazing for someone who walks back and forth on this one block from Milk Street to State Street how dead it is,” Pollack said. “The intention of this project is to open it back up and really reconnect these two significant parts of the downtown.”

Jump over to the Boston Business Journal to read the full article.

0 Wells Fargo Signs Lease for 150k Sq. Ft in the Financial District

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Financial District boston office building at 125 High St.

Credit: B&T

Wells Fargo is on the move in the Financial District with a new lease at Tishman Speyer’s building on 125 High Street.

From Banker & Tradesman:

Wells Fargo has leased 150,000 square feet at 125 High St. in the Financial District and will begin relocating 775 employees from three locations in downtown Boston and Back Bay late next year…The 14-year lease for the 11th through 15th floors enables Wells Fargo to consolidate space from three buildings in the downtown and Back Bay beginning in late 2016, spokeswoman Krista Van Tassel said. More than 775 employees will move from 1 Boston Place, 101 Federal St. and 200 Berkeley St.

“We’re a large company and have multiple lines of business in the region,” Van Tassel said. “This is an opportunity to enhance our collaboration.”

 

0 Updates Coming to Boston’s Financial District

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rendering of congress street redevelopment

Credit: Bizjournals.com

More new retail, office and hotel options are coming to the Boston Financial District, centered around the intersection of State Street and Congress Street.

According to the BBJ, the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s agenda for its Thursday City Hall meeting includes the following projects:

  • A public hearing to discuss a proposed 23-story, 346-room“micro hotel which is designed to meet the changing needs/habits of today’s urban travelers” at 240 Tremont St. in the Theater District.
  • A public hearing to discuss Simon Property Group’s (NYSE: SPG)residential and retail expansion projectat 5 Copley Place, a proposed 52-story tower that includes 542 units of residential space spanning 680,000 square feet, a 54,000-square-foot addition to Neiman Marcus and a 60,000-square-foot addition of restaurant and retail space.
  • Scheduling a public hearing about Related Beal’s Congress Square project.
  • Approving and extending the Simmons College institutional master plan in the Fenway neighborhood.

 

0 Boston Office Forecast: Meaningful Moves Ahead in Financial Sector

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Boston financial district office buildings

Credit: B&T

The Boston office market has big movers that need to make some real estate decisions.  The market continues to tighten and blocks of 100,000 square feet and above are harder to find.

From Banker and Tradesman:

Banks continue to move employees into smaller workspaces, with the industry average now 150 square feet per employee, down from 225 square feet in 2009…many banks are [also] choosing to relocate offices. Only 25 percent of the financial services office deals tracked by JLL in 2014 were lease renewals, while 46 percent were relocations.

That trend is likely to continue in Boston, with three major financial institutions responsible for 33 percent of the total active requirements in the market. But the result likely will be a net decrease in occupied space.

Putnam Investments and Wells Fargo are in the market for 280,000 and 220,000 square feet, respectively, while BNY Mellon is seeking to downsize to 350,000 square feet. And available build-to-suit parcels in the Seaport District provide competition to existing office towers in the Financial District.

0 Belkin Pushes for Winthrop Square Tower

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Winthrop Square Tower rendering

Credit: Boston Globe

Belkin is one of eight developers chasing the development opportunity at the Winthrop Square parking garage site. His plan is after a 24/7 model that incorporates a live, work play them that embraces the “Café Culture” of today.

From the Boston Globe:

At the centerpiece of Belkin’s 740-foot office and residential tower is an innovation center, one designed for entrepreneurs and those who aspire to be one. The description itself may be eye-glazing or eye-rolling at a time when everyone claims to be innovative, but to hear Belkin explain it, you feel like he’s onto something big. It’s an idea that could go a long way to break down the walls that divide our business community, ones that keep Kendall Square and Innovation District types from mingling with those in the Financial District.

 

0 State Street Tower Offered to Public

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State Street high-rise

Credit: Boston Globe

Office buildings are trading at records levels and the influx of capital into Boston shows no sign of letting up.  1 Lincoln Street which is home to State Street is offering a new twist, you can own a piece.

From the Boston Globe:

[The] venture led by Fortis Property Group of New York, which bought the 1.1-million-square-foot tower for just under $900 million in 2006, would sell a 48.88 percent interest in the building through a real estate investment trust called ETRE REIT, according to documents that were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In the documents, ETRE said the State Street tower, built in 2003 and fully occupied by State Street Corp., is currently valued at $1.1 billion.

The move to hold a public stock offering for the building is the idea of ETRE Financial LLC, founded three years ago with the purpose of “facilitating the public listing of individual real estate assets to improve access, liquidity, and transparency in commercial real estate,” according to its website.

 

0 115 Winthrop Square Considered for Boston’s Second-Tallest Building

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rendering of 115 Winthrop Square

Credit: Banker&Tradesman

The Boston skyline is poised to see significant change of the next five years as projects that are under construction come online.  115 Winthrop Square is getting attention and might be home to Boston’s second tallest building if O’Brien has anything to do with it.

According to Banker&Tradesman, “developer Thomas O’Brien of Boston-based HYM Investments is proposing a 69-story, 780-foot-tall residential tower that would become the city’s second-tallest building, just 10 feet shy of the Hancock Tower…O’Brien was one of eight developers who submitted proposals to build a skyscraper in the Financial District. The Boston Redevelopment Authority sought proposals for a one-acre parcel currently occupied by the municipal garage at 115 Winthrop Square. O’Brien’s plan calls for a substantial redevelopment of the square, including a new Boston public school and a relocated St. Anthony Shrine, friary and ministry center. Under the O’Brien proposal, the church properties and school would be built on the former garage site and a residential tower with 11,000-square-foot floor plates would be built on the former shrine property.”

The HYM Investment Group can be seen, here.