0 One Winthrop Square in Boston goes up for Sale

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Office space at one winthrop square in boston

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Another downtown office asset hits the sale block. This week it’s One Winthrop Square in Boston.

From the BBJ:

One Winthrop Square, a 114,000-square-foot office building in Boston’s Financial District, has been listed for sale by its Germany-based owner…Commercial real estate sources expect a relatively high value for One Winthrop Square in light of last month’s sale of One Liberty Square, the 13-story office building also in the Financial District.

Additional information on the listing of One Winthrop Sq. is available on the Boston Business Journal’s website

0 Santander Officially Absorbs Sovereign Bank Name

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Santander bank logoWhat your bank called?  Walking down Boylston Street yesterday I couldn’t help but notice the temporary signs at the Sovereign Branch. Well, as we seen in the past, we will witness the retirement of another bank name today; Sovereign Bank will officially be called Santander from this point forth.

Some history about another Boston Bank, Bank of Boston.
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0 New Construction at South Station

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south station

Credit: Boston Business Journal

This is not your corner drugstore, CVS will be opening a new 30,000 square foot store at South Station. CVS is among a number of new retailers going in at the Boston transportation hub.

The Boston Business Journal reported some details on the new South Station arrivals, stating “CVS was paying in the $40 range per square foot for a 30,000-square-foot space on two floors, while Tavern in the Square has locked up 780 square feet at $150 per square foot. Starbucks, with 150 square feet, and Barbara’s Bookstore, with 300 square feet, also are paying about $150 per square foot.”

The full BBJ article is available, here

Available Office Space
South Station and South Boston Office Space

0 PayPal’s Boston Office in International Place

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PayPal office in Boston

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Shark Tank, 160, PayPal Here, PayPal’s Boston incubator are the four standout items that are occurring at PayPal’s office at International Place.  IP is no longer home to law firms, mutual fund companies, and accounting firms. Landlords have adapted to our new economy and rolled out the welcome mat.

A BBJ editorial observes, “while PayPal’s home base is in San Jose, California, the payments technology company’s Boston office continues to fill an important role…the group moved to a new 65,000-square-foot space, at International Place in the Financial District, more than doubling the size of PayPal’s previous office in Boston.”

For additional information on PayPal’s Boston Office or International Place in Boston, continue on to read the full Boston Business Journal article.

0 Development underway on $320 million mixed-use building near Fenway

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Rendering of proposed mixed-use development in Fenway on Boylston Street

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Would you take a $320 million gamble? It appears the Boston office market will embrace it. We have seen office vacancy’s drop while rents have continued upward over the recent years. The Boston office market has tremendous barriers to entry for new product, thus creating a supply and demand problem. Tenants are anxious to capitalize on the benefits of new construction, which allows them to be more efficient with the square footage per employee.

Developer Samuels & Associates is attempting to capitalize on the trend, beginning construction on a new office building on Boylston Street in Fenway. An article on the Boston Business Journal’s website reports:

Samuels & Associates is underway with construction of VanNess, a $320 million mixed-use project fronting on Boylston Street near Fenway Park. Slated for completion in 2015, the project is designed to include two buildings: an 8-story building housing 232,000 square feet of office space and another 11-story building with 172 residential apartments. The development also will include 210,000 square feet of retail space anchored by a 170,000-square-foot City Target, a new small-footprint store format launched by Target Corp. last year. There will also be about a dozen other retailers.

The full article is available on the BBJ.

Related Office Listings
Fenway Office Space

0 Boston Seaport District to House New $42M Boutique Hotel

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Seaport Hotel rendering

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Boston is home to some of the highest rooms rates in the country for hotels combined with a very limited supply. If you are coming to town to visit one of your new portfolio technology companies in the Seaport you will have a new spot. Sleeper Street, will be home to 136 room boutique hotel.

A Boston Business Journal report reveals, “the 100,000-square-foot Envoy Hotel, to be built at 66 Sleeper St., is slated to include 136 luxury guest rooms as well as a restaurant and bar. The plan also calls for a public roof deck with a bar and lounge that will offer city views. It will be located across the street from the John Joseph Moakley federal court house and one block inland from the Barking Crab restaurant in South Boston.”

Full Details are available on the BBJ’s website: Seaport Hotel set for 66 Sleeper Street

0 Mayor Menino’s Legacy

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Boston Magazine logoWhat will we remember Mayor Menino for?  For me, his passion. I did not always agree with his position on issues, but I loved his passion for the job.

Boston Magazine just published a retrospective, of sorts, outlining Mayor Menino’s hits and misses in office. The list includes what the magazine’s editors deem to be “the best and worst of his time in office.” If nothing else, it’s a timely read and an interesting recap of one of the more active Mayors in Boston’s history.

The article can be found on Boston Magazine’s website, here.

0 Boston Mayoral Candidate, Walsh, Would be Pro-Development

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Boston Mayoral Candidate Marty Walsh

Credit: Banker & Tradesman

If you are a single issue voter and a developer, your choice could be clear.

A well-organized Banker & Tradesman editorial has outlined the mayoral race with respect to each candidate’s potential impact on commercial real estate market:

But the Dorchester state rep is also popular with the developers and construction bosses, tough, no-nonsense men he has surely dealt with on the other side of the negotiating table, scooping up several thousand dollars in campaign contributions in the last month alone. This flood of cash from well-off builders underscores a key, if little-examined, facet of Boston’s pivotal mayoral race: Other than electing International Place builder Don Chiofaro or Suffolk Construction czar John Fish to the mayor’s office, it’s hard to imagine a potential future chief executive of Boston who is likely to be more aggressively pro-development than Walsh.

The full editorial is available on the B&T website.

0 Boston Office Rents Climb 3.5 percent

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Boston Offices for lease

Credit: Boston Herald

This is only part of the story. True, rental rates have risen, but the overall occupancy cost has risen even more than just the rental rates. In a rising market, like we are currently in, landlord’s contribute less in tenant improvement costs and offer much less rent abatement. This then translates into a higher occupancy cost. During a down market, a landlord could offer 125 percent of the first years rent to go improvements of the space, that number now could be 75 percent of the first years rent.

The Boston Herald’s analysis notes “office rents in Greater Boston grew at an even higher rate — 3.9 percent — primarily due to strong growth in Cambridge, downtown Boston and the northwest submarket, the report found. And rents may begin to rise at an even faster rate because employment levels in office jobs are reaching pre-recession levels.”

The Herald article can be found here: Hub Office Rates Jump

0 Sale of Vertex Towers Being Considered

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Vertex Towers in Boston's Seaport

Credit: Boston Business Journal

If you dream it, build it and lease it; they will come. As much is true at least if you’re Joe Fallon, developer of Fan pier.

A Boston Business Journal report notes that Fallon, the creator of the Seaport’s Waterfront Towers, is considering another sale that would impact that market. According to the BBJ, “Fallon will sell the two Vertex towers on Fan Pier at the right price.”

Further details on the potential sale of Vertex towers can be found on the BBJ.