0 South Station Tower Adds International Investors

Rendering of a proposed office tower over South Station

Credit: Boston Globe

The proposed 51-story tower at South Station has attracted Gemdale Properties of China. Development rights for this project expire in April of 2017.

From the Boston Globe:

Houston-based Hines said the upper floors of the 51-story tower now include plans for 175 condominiums, with office space below. Thursday night, it won approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority to bring a new majority investor — an arm of big Chinese builder Gemdale Properties — into the project.

“We are delighted to join in this venture with Hines to develop such an important and well-located project in a city which is exhibiting some of the strongest office and residential condominium market fundamentals in the US,” Gemdale said in a prepared statement.

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

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 50 Post Office Square in Boston Hits the Market

50 Post Office Square Boston

Credit: The Real Reporter

50 Post Office Square is coming to market and could reap $300 million.  The building last traded for $192 million ($245.43/SF) on 9/29/08.  The new sales number would put this at $383.48/SF.  The current ownership has done a remarkable job not only repositioning the asset, but leasing it up as well.  Of the 782,304 total square feet there is only 118,500 square feet available on the 5th and 6th floors.

From the Real Reporter:

Besides the current investment climate that has Boston among the most popular destinations for institutional and foreign capital, observers claim the move is likely a combination of the natural life cycle of the landlord’s tenure in the property that began in Oct. 2008 when the 600,000-sf structure was acquired for $192 million with partner Commonwealth Ventures. “They figure this is the right time to do it,” says the source who praises Bentall and CV for repositioning an Art Deco building dating to 1948 that was badly in need of an overhaul when the asset previously known as 185 Franklin St. was offered up for sale by Verizon.

0 Seaport District, Fort Point Channel Thriving

seaport office space

Credit: Bostonsf

The Seaport continues to show the market that it’s going to remain a dominate force in the Boston office market.  Rents are up, vacancy is down and demand is strong.  The challenge is the only new construction is Class A, so if you are seeking updated brick-and-bean, wait in line or be prepared to pay for it.

Alternatives that trade about $8 – $12 per square below would be Boston’s Financial District or the Leather District.

Indicative of the Seaport neighborhood’s appeal, BostonSF.com reports HFF recently closed a “$105.625 million sale of 3-building office portfolio Boston’s Seaport District…HFF announced that it has closed sale of three best-in-class, creative office assets totaling 221,064 square feet and 35 parking spaces.”

You can read more about the significant, three-building office space sale in the Seaport on Bostonsf.com.

0 Kendall Square Office Rents Reach Record Level

4 Cambridge Center

Four Cambridge Center

With the boost of office rents in East Cambridge, Downtown Crossing has become the new hotbed for Redline creative and tech companies with Class B rents still in the $30’s PSF.

The Boston Globe is reporting “Office rents in Kendall Square have hit an all-time high of almost $67 per square foot, breaking a record last set in 2001, according to the real estate brokerage Transwestern RBJ…Transwestern said the average asking rent on a top-tier office space in East Cambridge set a new record of $66.63 in the final quarter of 2014, edging out the previous record of $65.85 set in 2001. East Cambridge’s vacancy rate of 6.7 percent was lower than many parts of Boston’s central business district, but higher than those of the smaller office markets of South Station, North Station, and Longwood, whose vacancy rates ranged from 2 to 4.4 percent.”

Additional insight on the East Cambridge boom is available on the Boston Globe.

Office availability and neighborhood information for Downtown Crossing and Kendall Square are available on the following submarket pages:
Downtown Crossing offices
Kendall Square office space

0 MA Ranks 3rd for Expected IPO’s in 2015

281 summer street in south Boston

South Boston office building at 281 Summer St.

Massachusetts ranks 3rd nationally behind California and New York for 2015 IPO’s from Tech Firms.

The BBJ notes, approximately “588 tech companies across the nation are in the IPO pipeline, running roughly equal to the 590 tech firms that were in the pipeline at this time last year, according to a new report by CB Insight…Massachusetts has the third most tech companies in the IPO pipeline: 44…The top Massachusetts companies include Bit9 of Waltham, Actifio of Waltham, Veracode of Burlington, Simplivity of Westboro, and Dataxu of Boston.”

You can read the full article on the Boston Business Journal’s website, here.

0 Downtown Crossing Farmers’ Market: Roche Bros. Can’t Wait

Roche Bros. farmers market in downtown crossing

Credit: Boston Business Journal

The newest tenant to downtown crossing has opened, kinda, even though their space isn’t ready yet.  Looking for fresh fruit an vegetables, stop by daily from 10 AM to 6 PM!

Roche Bros. to set up a farmers’ market outside of its coming Downtown Crossing location to introduce itself to the neighborhood until the store officially opens in early Spring, 2015.

According to a news release today, printed in the BBJ, “the grocer is setting up five fresh produce stands outside the historic Millennium Tower/Burnham Building where construction is currently underway on the company’s 25,000 square-foot flagship supermarket. The open-air offerings are scheduled to operate seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The produce stands will primarily feature fresh fruits, as well as some vegetables, flowers, and seasonal baked goods. The Roche Bros. team will keep the stands open through October.”

You can read the complete statement and related article on the Boston Business Journal’s website.

0 Burnham Building in Downtown Crossing: AOL First to Move In

AOL employees wait to go into the Burnham building in downtown crossing

Credit: Boston Business Journal

The former Filene’s building in downtown Boston has welcomed it first tenant, AOL. AOL moves into the rejuvenated downtown crossing area of Boston and becomes the new building’s flagship name for now.

The Boston Business Journal indicates, “AOL officially became the first tenant to move in to the renovated Burnham Building in Boston’s Downtown Crossing this morning…The New York-based media and tech company moved about 50 employees into sixth floor office space…Next Monday, 600 employees from advertising firm Arnold Worldwide and its sister agency Havas Media will move into about 125,000 square feet of the building, at the corner of Washington and Summer streets.

More information on the Burnham Building’s prospective tenants are available on the BBJ’s website.

0 Copley Place will see $500M Expansion

Copley place expansion, graphic rendering

Credit: Bisnow.com

Changes are coming to Copley Place, a 52-story tower to house rental apartments and condos. Currently there is no change to the existing office towers.

Bisnow is reporting that “Simon Property Groups $500M expansion of Copley Place–is advancing with the recent city approval of its revised plan to add rental apartments to the residential mix…Simon will build 433 rental apartments and 109 condos instead of 318 condos in the 625-foot, 52-story tower.”

Additional details are available online, here.

Related Property Listings
Copley Office Space for Lease

0 Millennium Tower Breaks Ground in Downtown Crossing

Rendering of Millennium Tower in Downtown crossing Boston

Credit: rebusinessonline

What does $630M get you in Boston?  A 1.4 million square foot development in the heart of Downtown Crossing.  It will create new residences, office and retail opportunities.

Rebusinessonline is reporting that “Millennium Partners, a New York-based developer, has kicked off construction of its Millennium Tower and Burnham Building development in Boston’s Downtown Crossing neighborhood. Located at the site of the former Filene’s Department Store, the $630 million project consists of the 1912 Burnham Building and the 62-story, 450-unit mixed-use Millennium Tower.”

Continue on to rebusinessonline.com for more info.

Related Office Space Listings
Downtown Crossing Commercial Real Estate