0 Cambridge Co-working Office Space Sends Five Entrepreneurs to Shark Tank

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Workbar, coworking space in Cambridge MA

Credit: BBJ

Co-working office spaces continue to create a platform where innovative ideas can turn into companies. Yes, I’m a fan of Shark Tank and I love how the show boils a product pitch down to five minutes from pitch to investment.

Reporting on the local angle on the show, the BBJ notes that “entrepreneurs drove from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to pitch their business ideas at Cambridge co-working space Workbar on Thursday in hopes of getting national exposure on ABC’s Shark Tank…About 100 people were standing in line an hour before pitches started.

The growing interest and relevance of co-working office space in Cambridge is beneficial to both the entrepreneurs, who will spur future growth, as well as the environment and infrastructure that surrounds it.

For details on the five selected entrepreneurs, read the full article on the Boston Business Journal.

0 Boston Emerges as State’s Tech Startup Hub

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Has Boston really become the state’s capital for startups? Well yes. This came to be for two primary reasons; public access and cost of real estate. Downtown Crossing, DTX, is serviced by the T’s Red, Green Orange and Blue lines. Combined with the Silver Line and a short walk from South Station it offers employers a great recruiting tool as they vie for new talent.

Economics. Plain and simple. DTX is the last real value play within the Class B market and is what most startups are seeking. Opportunities can still be achieved with in the upper $20’s PSF while most buildings are pricing in the low to mid $30’S PSF.

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The Boston Globe’s niche online business publication, betaboston.com, notes the following:

Last year…Boston accomplished a previously unheard of feat in the tech world by having more venture capital deals than Cambridge — for years the center of gravity of the startup scene in Massachusetts. And a large number of those deals went to companies located outside the Innovation District, in neighboring business zones such as the Financial and Leather districts and Downtown Crossing.

0 Boston Office Market Maintains Strong Results for Landlords

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Wil Catlin

155 Federal Street

The Boston Office market continues to produce strong results for landlords. The low rise Class A and Class B market in the Financial District continue to offer a value option to prospective tenants.

According to news site, news.gnom.es, “First quarter 2014 marked Greater Boston’s fourth consecutive quarter of positive absorption. The market also posted its highest four-quarter positive absorption total since 2007, with 3.6 million square feet absorbed from second quarter 2013 through first quarter 2014.”

The article quotes 542,000 SF of positive adsorption in Boston in the First Quarter. You can read the full article, here.

0 Shared Office Space is Here to Stay

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: The Boston Globe

Shared office space is here to stay. Think about it like “Just in Time Inventory,” allowing now companies to focus on the company while having all the amenities of much larger corporations. In short, you pay for flexibility, but that combined with some great peer networking is exactly what clients are looking for.

The Boston Globe defined the shared office space ‘trend’ in a recent article:

“a new kind of office is popping up in neighborhoods from Newton to Chelsea to Boston’s Leather District: communal spaces where you can rent a desk or three on a month-to-month basis, and mingle with other businesspeople around the kitchen’s beer tap at the end of the day. (Unlimited brewskis — or cups of coffee — are included in the rent.)”

0 7-9 Channel Center in Seaport Slated for Renovation

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Berkley Investments is bullish on the Seaport with their soon-to-be-renovated 7-story, 10K SF floor plate building. This building is targeting funded and stabilized technology companies.

According to the Boston Business Journal, Berkeley is rehabilitating “9 Channel Center, a 7-story office and retail building totaling 77,000 square feet in the growing Seaport neighborhood. The interior and exterior rehab will include the installation of new building systems and the addition of as much as 4,000 square feet of street-level retail. The building’s brick and beam architecture will be restored. The design also calls for a new atrium lobby, retail storefronts and a roof deck. The building’s floor plates will span approximately 10,000 square feet.”

Details on the design and tenant plans for 7-9 Channel Center are included in the BBJ article: office rehab in Seaport.

0 Commercial Development in Boston is Strongest in Years

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Wil Catlin

office tower in Boston on Boylston Street

Credit: The Real Reporter

Office development within Boston is at its strongest in years, some might even say ever. Most of what we are seeing is large residential projects, but Boylston Street continues to evolve with 888 Boylston St. breaking ground this spring, which will add to the 3.2 million square feet of office space that’s part of the Prudential complex.

The BBJ, reporting on a panel discussion hosted by NAIOP, printed the following:

The group agreed that a perfect storm led by the Big Dig’s completion, a growing population, a flood of Baby Boomers who want to return to the city, lower unemployment and a rush of foreign capital is lending to the city’s multibillion-dollar development pipeline.

“We are seeing an unprecedented amount of development going on all around in the city … and many of these projects are very large, complicated developments that we haven’t seen in 20, 25 years,” said Raiz Cassum, the event’s moderator and a senior managing director at HFF. “

The full article is available on the Boston Business Journal.

0 New Collaborative Office Spaces for Boston Startups

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Wil Catlin

collaborative office space for boston startups

Credit: dailyfreepress.com

“Collaboration” seems to be the most common term in the lexicon of today’s emerging companies. A company dedicated to dynamic, collaborative office space is helping to ensure the trend has an increasing presence in Boston.

From the Daily Free Press:

“WeWork is a collaborative office space, with more than 2,000 members expected to call the Boston offices home by summer. The office space is shared primarily by early-stage startups that would otherwise not have access to many of the amenities available within the space.”

Additional information on WeWork is provided in the Daily Free Press article.

0 How Startups Pick their Hometowns

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

Frequently when I meet with young companies their initial request is, what will it cost? My reply is usually is, “ If it was free and the perfect configuration, but in Western Massachusetts, would you take it?” The reply, “No.”

Companies that are in growth mode care about access to qualified potential employees. In the Boston market we see many companies prefer to be within the city core as opposed to be outside the city for that simple reason. The younger workforce doesn’t own or doesn’t want their commute to involve an automobile.

According to a research report on the Boston Business Journal, here’s are the three aspects that entrepreneurs say actually did sell them on their hometowns:

1. Population & talent

2. Livability

3. Strong area supply chains

The full BBJ article is available, here.

0 Demand Grows for Office Tower at Seaport’s Pier 4

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Herald

Will the Seaport see a new tower in the near future? Office demand is strong and New England Development is looking to accommodate.

According to a recent Boston Herald article, “strong demand for new Seaport District office space has prompted New England Development to settle on an office tower for the second phase of its 1 million-square-foot, mixed-use Pier 4 project.”

The full article is available here: Boston Herald real estate

0 Boston Startups: Rent Desks from WeWork

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Office buildings on Melcher st in Boston

Credit: fortpointchannelboston

Mobility seems to be the cornerstone for the general population. Be it a smart phone or a tablet, we are on the phone and don’t wish to be tethered. The same is true for office space; CEO’s today are looking for flexibility with a collaborative environment, not a long-term lease. Desk and office rental is the solution. Pay for exactly what you need, when you need it.

The wait is over. Boston businesses now have a new, dedicated outlet for desk rentals and office space: WeWork. According to the Boston Herald, “what separates WeWork from other “co-working spaces” is the sense of community they build…there is a sports lounge in the basement of WeWork Seaport in Fort Point, complete with arcade games, a pool table and kegs. Members also get access to WeWork companies across the country for possible partnerships.”

Additional information on WeWork is available in the Boston Herald article.