0 Government Center Garage Aims for Dynamic Redevelopment

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This plan to remake the Government Center Garage is genius. The notion that the garage will be repurposed into a smaller garage, apartments and tower infrastructure solves many problems that held this project back. The largest non-economic benefit for the neighborhood is not having to go through demolition and then site work that could exceed 18th months.

Plan for Govt Center garage project

Credit: Boston Globe

From the Boston Globe:

“It’s not as if you can just swing a wrecking ball at this thing,” said Tom O’Brien, managing director of the development firm HYM Investment Group, which is turning the huge garage into the base of two new skyscrapers, a third mid-rise apartment building, and a plaza of low-rise buildings along the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

Instead, HYM will carefully take down parts of the garage, while remaking other sections so it can continue to provide parking during and after construction. In some places whole sections of the garage will be demolished, while elsewhere HYM will slice off portions to make way for several of the buildings; the remainder of the garage will serve as a platform that unifies the complex.

0 Broomfield Street in Downtown Crossing in the Crosshairs of Change

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Bromfield street in Boston

Credit: Wbur

Boston continues to grow and change, the result of which, is larger developments with big footprints. Change is at the forefront for some neighborhoods that are witnessing redevelopment on a grand scale.

Bromfield Street in Downtown Crossing is in the crosshairs of change, and it is possible that the two-block street might follow that of the 8-track player.

From Wbur:

On Wednesday night, the Boston Redevelopment Authority will consider plans for this new curved, irregular tower at 1 Bromfield St. And that could portend huge changes for the little street once described as Boston’s “hobby street,” where there’s still just a little bit of the old Boston left.

The proposed building would be 700 feet tall — as tall as Millennium Tower — which is in the final stretches of its construction across the street at 1 Franklin St. The New York developer, Midwood, would have to get the height restriction in the neighborhood changed to build the project.

0 Car Bans for Select Boston Streets?

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Back Bay on a busy summer day

Credit: twitter

Imagine no longer hoping for a parking spot on Newbury Street in Back Bay…

What do you think?

From the Boston Globe:

During a “Twitter chat” Wednesday with Mayor Martin J. Walsh, where the mayor answers constituents’ questions on social media, a city official gave an intriguing response to one person’s question about whether Boston would ever limit traffic on certain streets to allow for a pedestrian takeover.

“How about closing streets like Newbury, Union, and Hanover to traffic on certain days in the Summer?” asked Adam Castiglioni, who runs a blog about Boston hospitality.

The city responded by saying the concept was already on their radar…”Stay tuned for [information] later this summer,” the City of Boston Twitter account replied.

0 Boston Seaport District Lands Starbucks Reserve Cafe

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The Seaport’s 101 Seaport Boulevard will be home to the latest offering from Starbucks Reserve Cafes, AKA, ultra-Starbucks with a premium price of $4 per coffee.

view from 5th floor of 101 seaport blvd in Boston

Banker&Tradesman notes “the Seattle coffee giant plans to open one of its “ultra-premium” Starbucks Reserve cafes this summer at 101 Seaport, a 17-story office building that is anchored by the regional headquarters of PwC…Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz recently told analysts the company plans to build more than 500 “coffee-forward” Starbucks Reserve stores in select global cities. Decked out in rustic decor, the new stores offer small-lot coffee batches brewed with a variety of techniques including siphoning, pour-over, espresso and Chemex. The stores also sell Teavana loose-leaf and packaged teas. The new cafes also come with a price premium, with a small coffee selling for $4 at a location that opened this year in Manhattan, according to Business Insider.”

You can read the full article on the Banker and Tradesman website, here.

0 Proposal Submitted to Illuminate Congress St. Bridge

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Congress St. Bridge Boston

Credit: Boston Herald

The Congress Street Bridge could be newly illuminated by N.H.-based Port Lighting, which would bring a new feel from dusk to dawn.

According to a Boston Herald article, “Port Lighting, working with Salem lighting designer Available Light, wants to illuminate the Congress Street bridge over Fort Point Channel with a series of 29 lit boxes symbolic of tea chests from the Boston Tea Party, along with color-changing spotlights and LED-lit lanterns.

You can read additional details on the Boston Herald, here.

0 Boston Ranks Fourth Among U.S. Cities in Jobs

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Elevated view of Fenway office buildings

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Boston falls in the top 5 for best city for a job in the U.S.  Some of the hottest opportunities are: nurse practitioner, applications developer and sales development representative.

A recent report from Glassdoor “ranked Boston the fourth-best city in the U.S. for jobs. Last year, Boston was No. 15 on the list, sandwiched between Dallas-Fort Worth and Minneapolis-St. Paul…According to the report, there are 121,498 job openings in the Boston area with a median base salary of $67,500 and a median home value of $387,400. Some of the hottest jobs in Boston include nurse practitioner, applications developer and sales development representative.”

At the top of the list for best U.S. cities for jobs was San Jose, California (No. 1), followed by San Francisco (No. 2) and Seattle (No. 3). Washington, D.C. was No. 5 on the list.

0 Seaport is Bustling; Time To Find Boston’s next Hot Neighborhood

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101 seaport blvd office building

Credit: Boston Globe

Prior to having a Starbucks, some complain that there isn’t a Starbucks around; once Starbucks opens in the area, some complain that the neighborhood has become gentrified.

Take this passage from a recent Banker and Tradesman article as affirmation:

A new Starbucks has opened facing the Fort Point Channel on Congress Street across from the Children’s Museum. And with that, it is official: the Seaport has been gentrified. The search for the next hot neighborhood must begin now, because the Seaport has jumped the shark…Hyperbolic, perhaps, but nonetheless true. The neighborhood’s conversion from the gritty artist community of Fort Point to the shiny office tower haven of the Seaport is all but complete.

Simple enough, the Seaport has seen a dramatic transformation and has some of the most expensive office building trades in Boston – in excess of $1,000 per square foot at 101 Seaport Boulevard.

Available Office Space Listings
Seaport Office Space for Lease

0 Competition is Shaping Workspace

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Downtown Crossing office space for engineering team

Credit: BBJ

The competition for “Tech Talent” is fierce and companies are pulling out all the stops to reign supreme. Employers are thinking far beyond just compensation to recruit and retain top talent, added to the list are:

  • Location: Employees are demanding easy access via the T, Bus, Bike, Boat or Walk.
  • Amenities: Employees want abundant food, workout and after hours options.
  • Space: The space needs a balance of “Me Space and We Space” to foster collaboration.

Employers are additionally asking their workforce to aid them in finding top talent by offering perks such as worldwide trips.

From the BBJ:

“This is what you need to do to be competitive,” said Cayan CEO Henry Helgeson, adding that the talent battle has forced him to rethink his recruiting strategy.

This spring, workers will put the finishing touches on the Cayan renovation, which has ditched the large conference tables and swivel chairs that typically populate office common areas in favor of barstools and high-set slabs more often associated with a pub. Helgeson says people think he’s crazy for that idea, but he wants employees to be eye-level to presenters in conferences to eliminate unnecessary hierarchies, he said. Innovative spaces like these prove to be a cost-benefit for attracting and retaining top talent in the long run. After all, recruiting firms take a cut of between 20 to 30 percent of each new hire’s salary, and those costs can easily mount into the millions annually for a growing tech firm.

0 South Station Tower Adds International Investors

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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 Amazon Echo Speech-Technology Stems from Kendall Square

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Amazon Kendall Square office space in Cambridge

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Did you know that Amazon’s Echo came from Cambridge?

From the Boston Globe:

The voice recognition technology in Amazon’s Echo is a key focus of the company’s Cambridge office…The high-tech brains that make it work come from [Rohit] Prasad’s team. He runs Amazon’s speech science efforts from the company’s Kendall Square office, overseeing the scientists, engineers, and data specialists who make the Echo something you can talk to.

The Echo is a critically acclaimed hit for Amazon. The canister-shaped device can turn on a smart TV, play your favorite album, or fetch the weather report, all by listening to your voice. And Amazon plans to add even more functions to its growing list.