Category Archives: Office Tower Boston

0 How Startups Pick their Hometowns

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View of skyline

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

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Pier 4 Seaport low for Office Tower

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 TD Towers Seeks to Elevate Boston Skyline

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Is the TD Towers too tall for the neighborhood? Well, yes and no, Boston is growing and new projects need height to make them work. The low-rise buildings that were constructed during the early part of the last century are a thing of the past.

Boston TD Towers

Credit: Boston Magazine

Boston Magazine recently reported on a controversy surrounding the proposed size of TD Towers, noting “the project opens the door to many more like it, which would turn the West End into another skyscraper orchard. It’s not hard to see where they’re coming from. When you compare the project with towers elsewhere in Boston, it fits right in. But as you can see above, it will dwarf its neighbors in the West End.”

The full Boston Magazine article can be found, here.

0 888 Boylston Street Office Tower Sets 2014 Launch

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Boylston Street office tower in Boston

Credit: The Real Reporter

Back Bay continues its foothold as strongest office market in New England.  The Boston Marathon and Duck Tour Parade route will pass Boston Properties’ newest landmark tower, 888 Boylston Street which is schedule to start construction in Spring of 2014.

According to The Real Reporter, “Prudential Center owner Boston Properties has an office tenant in tow that would enable the proposed 17-story, 442,000-sf building to proceed. Market sources claim Natixis Global Asset Management, a French conglomerate that owns homegrown Copley Real Estate Advisors, is negotiating for an estimated 115,000 sf to facilitate a relocation from its 399 Boylston St. home a few blocks east on the opposite side of the Back Bay boulevard.”

Additional details are available in the Real Reporter’s post.

0 22 Batterymarch Street in Boston Sells for $10.5M

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Office building on batterymarch street in Boston

Credit: Boston Business Journal

The Class B trades continue in the Financial District with 22 Batterymarch for $300 per square foot. As the vacancy continues to drop and lease rates increase, we will see more sellers coming to the table in coming months.

A BBJ article offers details and background on the property at 22 Batterymarch:

Built in the 1890s, the 35,000-square-foot Class B office building once served as the Harvard Club. Around 30 years ago, the property was converted into a multitenant office facility. The seven-story building was acquired by Taurus in 1998 for $4.4 million. It is assessed at $5.3 million.

The complete article is available on the Boston Business Journal.

0 Builders Consider Wind Power

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Wind power for office towers

Credit: Banker & Tradesman

As we all try harder to recycle and become a greener society, one group has looked up. Way up. Is it possible and feasible to have wind farms atop office towers?  At a cost, yes; but is there an adequate return on investment?

Banker & Tradesman recently reported on a Cambridge-based startup that is exploring the use of wind power on an office tower:

One such cleantech startup based in Cambridge has designed its own version of a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) that stands from 26 to 40 feet tall, with a 20-foot diameter, a far cry from the turbines in, say, Falmouth, where the towers rise more than 260 feet into the air and can be seen for miles around…But instead of the turbines themselves being towers, Eastern Wind Power’s founders want to put their turbines on top of existing and new urban office towers.

The full article on sustainable office towers is available on B&T.

0 TD Garden Project a Go

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Rendering of the proposed renovation at the TD Garden

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Our outgoing mayor and Boston Properties have struck a deal on the TD Garden project.

According to an article on the Boston Business Journal, “the Menino administration is set to announce that they have reached an agreement with Boston Properties and Delaware North Cos. to allow construction of a 45-story residential tower near North Station and provide a lucrative tax break to support the $1 billion development.”

Full details are available in the original article on the BBJ.

0 Innovation District gets Smart Parking Sensors, Time to Destination Signs

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Boston innovation district at night

Credit: innovationdistrict.org

How smart is your parking space? Well in the Innovation district and Boston Seaport are stepping it up a few notches with a real-time data app from www.streetline.com. Imagine knowing where to go for the nearest spot and no longer circling the block, it’s here in our city!

Banker & Tradesman posted a report on the traffic installations in the Innovation District:

The technology is designed to help manage traffic congestion in the downtown neighborhood. The smart parking sensors and time to destination signs will provide drivers with constantly updated information on available, on-street parking spaces as well as the quickest route to take out of the Innovation District to the highway system during the evening commute.  Drivers may begin taking advantage of this new technology on Wednesday, Dec. 11.

The full B&T articles is available on their website.

Alternatively, follow this link to view available office space in the Innovation District

0 TD Garden Project Awaits Resolution

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Boston TD Garden project

Credit: Boston Business Journal

The changing of the guard may have already begun in the corner office at city hall.  It will be interesting to see the outcome of the vote on December 19th by the BRA on a 1.8-million square-foot project around the TD Garden.

According to the Boston Business Journal, “Menino has bristled at suggestions from mayor-elect Walsh and former mayoral candidate John Connolly that the BRA lacks transparency. But the administration’s unwillingness to talk about the negotiations or even allow members of the mayor-appointed Boston Garden Impact Advisory Group participate in the talks has raised questions about what is happening behind closed doors.”

Additional information on the ‘compromise’ is available on the BBJ’s website.

0 South Station Redevelopment: Back to the Drawing Board

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South Station in Boston

Credit: Boston Business Journal

The starts and stops at South Station redevelopment – will we see condos or more office space?

A recent article on the BBJ’s website, quotes a senior vice president in Hines’ Boston office:

Seven years after getting permits for a 1.9-million-square-foot mixed-use project anchored by a 47-story office tower, Houston-based developer Hines is headed back to the drawing board. It plans to reduce office space and eliminate a 200-room hotel while increasing the number of residential units, said David Perry, a senior vice president in Hines’ Boston office.

For the full article, head over to the Boston Business Journal.