0 Congress Square Project Grows Retail in Boston Financial District

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Congress Sq. retail space in Boston financial district

Credit: BBJ

Related Beal’s Congress Square project will bring “The Block” back to the street.” This will add a great street scape of retailers to the Congress and State Street interesting section of the Financial District.

Coverage on the BBJ notes, “the mixed-use project will include renovated offices, the addition of ground-floor retail and restaurant space, residential units and a boutique hotel. It’s knit together by a reinvigorated Quaker Lane — currently a rather dark back alley — into what Related Beal hopes will be a destination retail and nightlife location, as well as an improved Washington Street retail corridor.”

More information on the mixed-use redevelopment project is available on bizjournals.com.

0 Boston Developers Contending for Financial District Tower

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Wil Catlin

new Boston office tower financial district

Rendering of Accordia Partners’ proposed tower. Credit: Boston Globe

The shuttered garage that falls between Devonshire and Federal Street in the core of Boston’s Financial District shines brightly as an opportunity for eight suitors to make their mark on the Boston Skyline. Tenants in recent quarters have flocked Downtown to take advantage of value rents and infrastructure driving office vacancy down to 10 percent.

The Boston Globe details the eight developers “have filed proposals for a skyscraper, several of which would be nearly as tall as the city’s largest, the Hancock Tower, on the site of a city-owned parking garage that is now closed. The competitors include a who’s who of local and national developers, a measure of how strong Boston’s real estate market has become…If approved, the Winthrop Square project would add another tower to the fast-changing Boston skyline. Already, five towers over 600 feet are proposed or are being built while other large complexes are under development downtown.”

You can read the full article on the Globe website

0 Storm-Resistant AquaFence will Shield Atlantic Wharf Building

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Wil Catlin

flood protection around Atlantic Wharf building in Boston financial district

Credit: WGBH

I must admit I have never heard of this, AquaFence. Boston Properties the owner of Atlantic Wharf at 280 Congress is on the forefront of flood prevention.

A WGBH news article describes the AquaFence; “when it’s assembled, an AquaFence turns a single building into something like a walled city, with one big difference: the side of the wall facing out — toward the encroaching storm water — is connected to a series of panels that lie on the ground. Atlantic Wharf’s property manager, Barrett Cooke, says floodwater is supposed to cover those panels on the ground, weighing them down and strengthening the whole AquaFence.”

Some of the tenants for 280 Congress Street are:

• Wellington Financial
• McKinsey
• TripAdvisor
• Raptor Group

0 75-105 Federal St. in Boston’s Financial District Under Agreement

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Financial District office space federal street

Credit: Banker&Tradesman

Another trade is scheduled to take place, 75 – 105 Federal Street in Boston’s Financial District.

According to Banker&Tradesman, “the L-shaped office tower overlooks the city-owned Winthrop Square garage, which could be redeveloped into a massive mixed-use project…Developer Steve Belkin has floated plans for a 740-foot tower on the garage site at 115 Federal St. The project would cost approximately $900 million and contain offices, a 300-room hotel, retail space and possibly condos on the upper floors.”

You can read the full article on B&T, here.

0 Boston Office Rents Among Country’s Most Expensive

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Boston Rents continue its upward push with four office markets leading that charge: Back Bay, East Cambridge, Financial District and Seaport. The Class A market within Back Bay is clearly leading the way, while some value still exists within the Class B market. A real driver in the increased rents is the cost of tenant improvement dollars going from shell space to fix up space. Not uncommon to see those numbers north of $75 per square foot.

Credit: Boston Business Journal

According to the BBJ, “the Back Bay’s average rents hovered over $60 last year [while]…Midtown New York commanded about $130 per square foot, and both San Francisco and Washington rents topped $75 per square foot.”

You can read the full article on the Boston Business Journal.

0 Boston Financial District Lands new Soup Restaurant

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Looking for a free lunch? Stop by the newest eatery in the Financial District at 185 Franklin Street on Wednesday January 21st from noon to 2 PM.

Soup Spot in Boston's financial district

Credit: Bostinno.Streetwise

From Bostinno.Streetwise:

For those unfamiliar with Hale and Hearty Soups, the chain has numerous locations throughout Manhattan, Long Island and Brooklyn, New York. The restaurant serves up several “everyday soups” as well as a variety of rotating “daily specials.” In addition to soup, Hale and Hearty also offers sandwiches, salads and sweets. Take a peek at their menu, here.

0 Downtown Boston Office Market Expanding Steadily

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: B&T

Downtown Boston is the largest concentration North of New York City and is in the midst of strong rent growth across the Class A and B segments. Today’s technology and creative services companies are looking for easy access to public transportation combined with an open floor plan.

From Banker & Tradesman:

For the third straight year in 2014, the Greater Boston office market recorded more than 2 million square feet of positive absorption, in a steady expansion that boosted occupancy rates at properties ranging from suburban office parks to converted warehouses and downtown high-rises.

“There’s more office product than ever and it’s getting filled in a much more dense way than ever before,” said Brendan Carroll, vice president of research for Avison Young. “If you’re wondering why the T seems more packed, or why you can’t get a cab to take you across the (Fort Point) Channel, that seems to be the reason.”

0 Boston Office Rents Stay Among Country’s Highest in 2015

Posted on January 18, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Boston Office rents are some of the most expensive nationally and expected to continue upward during 2015. Vacancy in the city has continued downward with value options within the low rise Class A and Class B in the Financial District.

“The vacancy rate in Boston at the end of the fourth quarter was 13.4 percent, the seventh-lowest rate in the country among the roughly 75 markets Reis examined…The national average was 16.7 percent. Average Boston rents rose 0.2 percentage points during the fourth quarter. Most of the cities saw a small decline. Average rent in Boston at the end of the fourth quarter was $32.42 per square foot — fourth highest in the country,” according to stats presented on the Boston Business Journal.

The full BBJ article can be found, here.

0 November 9th: 142nd Anniversary of the Great Boston Fire

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Wil Catlin

archive image of the great Boston fire in 1872

Credit: Wikipedia

The great Boston Fire started on November 9th in 1872 that started on the corner of Kingston and Summer Streets which is now the heart of Downtown Crossing (DTX).

The historic significance of the fire’s aftermath of the city’s commercial development is noted in The Daily Times:

On this day in 1872, a fire in Boston destroyed hundreds of buildings and kills 14 people. In the aftermath, the city established an entirely new system of firefighting and prevention. The fire also led to the creation of Boston’s financial district…The business community saw the burned area as an opportunity to expand its presence downtown. The city’s financial district was established where the fire had hit hardest and Boston soon became a key business center of the late 19th-century United States.

0 Sales of New Boston Office Towers to Boost Rent Prices

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker&Tradesman

Office rents will continue to rise and I expect this to continue through 2015 and into 2016. The buyers of the recent office buildings will be looking for their return on investment and that will come from increasing the price per foot they charge tenants.

Banker & Tradesman reports the stage was set “for the big rent hikes to come has been a frenzy of office tower sales in the Financial District, Back Bay and Seaport over the last six months…More than 5.5 million square feet of office tower space changed hands or has been placed under contract between July and September, Collins and Regensburg note in a piece for the New England Real Estate Journal. Another 4 million square feet has hit the market or is about to.”

Additional details on the new office towers and projected office rent rates is available on Banker&Tradesman’s website, here.