0 Boston Office Market Tilts in Favor of Landlords

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Office Building at 116 Huntington Ave. in Boston

116 Huntington Ave. office building in Boston

Rents are up and vacancy is down; this is a good sign for landlords, but not as beneficial for the tenants. Value options still exist in the low rise Class A space and Class B space, particularly within second generation space.

The Boston Business Journal offers some numbers to help explain what started this current trend:

“Over the past year, three million square feet of office space has been absorbed as tenants inked deals in the Financial District, Midtown, North and South Station and Charlestown. Boston’s overall availability rate fell slightly to 15.1 percent from July through September, down from 16.6 percent for the same period one year ago. As availability fell, rents in the Hub’s submarkets swelled by nearly 6 percent to $51.96, up from $49.07 one year ago.”

For more information, read the Boston Business Journal’s article: Market Improving for Landlords

0 One Post Office Square Restructuring: Partner Buys out Equity

Posted on August 2, 2013 by Wil Catlin

One Post Office Sq.

The transfer/sale of assets in the Financial District continues. Time will tell how the transaction was structured, but what is clear Equity Office continue to divest New England Assets.

According to The Real Reporter, “equity Office has agreed to sell its stake at One Post Office Square to partner Morgan Stanley for a price said to exceed $500 million.”

To read the financials and details of the sale, jump over to The Real Reporter article.

0 Boston Gets ‘Fresh Food Truck’

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Boston now has a food truck offering fresh raw vegetables and fruit. It seems gone are the days of a truck that serves items that have been cooked or assemble weeks prior with little consideration for presentation or freshness. I wonder if you could request the bus to show up at your office or neighborhood using UBER?

Credit: The Boston Globe

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0 Boston Startups Filling Downtown Crossing Office Space

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Wil Catlin

What does the Red, Green and Orange Line have in common? The benefit of transporting the influx of employees to the newly leased up space in Downtown crossing to all the startups priced out of the Seaport and Cambridge.

W. Marc Bernsau of the Boston Business Journal reports, “the available office space in Downtown Crossing plunged by nearly 40 percent in two years as a wave of startups priced out of Kendall Square and the Seaport arrived in search of real estate bargains.”

Additional details on the startups moving into downtown crossing and its associated office space are available on the Boston Business Journal’s website.

Related Listings
Available Office Space in Downtown Crossing

0 Brighton Commuter Rail Station Receives Approval

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Office Building at 1330 Boylston St.

How do you get to work? Would you take public transportation if it stopped close to your home or office? Do you select office space based on its proximity to North or South Station?

A Boston Business Journal article reports that the station development is heavily influenced by New Balance’s proposed corporate world headquarters, “the station would be built next to New Balance’s proposed $235 million corporate world headquarters. As mitigation for the 1.4 million-square-foot mixed-use development, the sneaker giant has agreed to cover the cost to design, build and maintain the station. The plan received initial approval from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Finance Committee on Tuesday. A vote of the full board will take place next week.”

For additional information on the station and New Balance’s new development, jump over to the BBJ’s article here: Commuter Rail Approved in Brighton

Related Office Listings
Office Space for Lease in Allston and Brighton

0 Boston to become more Bike Friendly

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Bike lanes in Boston make the city more bike friendly

Photo Credit: Boston Globe

We have all seen them, some of us know them, and others are them. I am a firm believer in sharing the road, but all that use the road need to obey the same laws. Countless times I have nearly been hit by cyclists heading the wrong way on Boylston Street. I’m not too sure what they are thinking, but I know as a driver, it’s against the law.

An editorial in the Boston Globe, based on a comprehensive multi-year study on city-wide bike collision data, reports “city transportation officials hope to introduce cycle tracks, bike lanes separated from the street by a barrier, on a few sections of busy roads…Police, who have for years issued warnings to cyclists who run red lights or glide through stop signs, will now hand out $20 citations…and city officials are considering a plan to push city councilors to pass a law requiring all cyclists to wear a helmet.”

You can read the complete article on the Boston Globe website: Boston Bicycling Safety

0 Tavern at the Office?

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Photo Credit: DarkRoastedBlend.com

As tenants think about space layouts and efficiency factors some tenants are creating a far more relaxed atmosphere. Imagine your own pub at the office; 51 Melcher Street in Boston Seaport will have it.

Bert Jacobs, CEO (Chief Executive Optimist) and co-founder of The Life is Good Company, in an article on the Wall Street Journal, states, “when we move our headquarters from Boston’s Back Bay to the Seaport District this fall, we’re going to build a tavern in the office…we’ll put some beers on tap, like Harpoon IPA and maybe Guinness. It will have lounge seating, a big fireplace and a bar area. People can work there or hang out with friends or co-workers. The idea is to blur the lines between work and play.”

WSJ subscribers can read the full article, here: I’m Building a Tavern at My Company.

0 Local Companies Offer Free Office Space to those Impacted by Boston Marathon Bombing

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Photo Credit: Boston Globe

The circumstance that occurred at the Boston Marathon prior to Monday seem unimaginable in Back Bay. Our office is located between the two blast zones, and as a result we are not permitted in. The offer of temporary office space to those uprooted by a combination of companies is truly generous and deserves a thank you.

The Boston Globe has highlighted several coworking spaces offering free access to those impacted by the Boston Marathon bombing; below is a list from the Globe article (via Space with a Soul):

Space with a Soul
281 Summer Street, Boston, MA, 02210
help@spacewithasoul.org
617-939-9375

Workbar
711 Atlantic Ave, Boston, MA 02111
Devin@workbar.com
617-861-4940

MassChallenge
1 Marina Park Drive, Boston, MA 02210
contact@masschallenge.org

Cambridge Innovation Center
1 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02142
space@cictr.com
617-758-4200

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0 Boylston St. Company Constructs ‘Fun’ Work Environment

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Office and work space in Boston continues to evolve to meet the needs of contemporary companies, with additional consideration given to functional atmospheric elements to complement the core layout.

Located on Boylston Street, ZeroTurnaround — a Java productivity tools maker — is one of a number of companies in Boston to design its workspace to match its progressive attitude. In a Boston Herald article about the company’s “fun” work environment, author Ira Kantor describes the company’s Back Bay HQ, “as music fills the C-shaped, 5,500-square-foot space, employees feed off that energy as they start cranking out global phone calls.”

0 Mobile App, Hailo, Dispatches Taxis in Boston

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Wil Catlin

Screenshot of a taxi dispatch app that operates in Boston, along with other cities across the US

Photo Credit: Hailo

Days of having your administrative assistant scheduling a car service to take you to the airport at 10:00 AM are perhaps a thing of the past. Your meeting is running long, you need to text your admin and have her contact the limo service to have the car wait. She texts you back, “OK”. You reply, “thanks”. Well, now simply reply on technology to work for you.

Hailo and a series of other apps are designed to deliver a taxi whenever you want wherever you are with two taps.

The Boston Globe wrote a detailed editorial on the Hailo’s expansion plans, following the closing of an investment round of $30.6 million.