0 Free Office Space in Boston for Select Irish Start-ups

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Boston waterfront office space

Credit: Silicon Republic

Irish entrepreneurship is alive and strong within greater Boston. Launch Space is the launch pad for Irish based companies looking to expand into the U.S. marketplace.

From Silicon Republic:

“The Netwatch Launch Space is about creating a connected community of Irish companies who can support each other as they seek to build their business here,” said David Walsh, CEO of Netwatch…Netwatch made the move in 2011 and we can give other Irish companies a real insight into our experience of setting up a base in the US, introduce them to our own network of clients and contacts, including legal, financial and marketing advisers to ease their entry into what is a huge and varied market.”

0 Commercial Real Estate Portfolio for Macy’s Exceeds Value of Business

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Macy's flagship store in NYC

Credit: Bizjournals

When the value of your real estate exceeds the value of your business what do you do?  Macy’s investors are putting pressure on the retail to separate the entities.

According to the Bizjournals website, Macy’s investors are considering “spinning off the 556 stores it owns nationwide, including its 34th Street store in midtown Manhattan, into a separate company…By spinning off the real estate as a separate business, Macy’s would be able to rent out space or even sell part of its holdings at a time when commercial real estate market is hot, and brick-and-mortar retailers are facing greater competition from online sellers. Analysts have suggested the upper floors of Macy’s in Herald Square could be sold off as condos or a hotel.”

You can read more about Macy’s estimated $21 billion real estate portfolio on the Bizjournal.com/newyork.

0 Congress Sq. Project Adds Seven-Story Office Tower in Boston Financial District

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rendering of the new Jewel Box in the Congress Sq. Project

Credit: Bizjournals

The revitalization of the old continues as 40 Water Street makes its debut.

Scott Pollack, principal with Arrowstreet, said in a BBJ article, “It seemed like a real opportunity to serve an interest in the market that otherwise really isn’t being served at the moment.” The block of buildings is situated near Post Office Square, in between Milk Street and State Street — a relatively “dead” block, Pollack said, but one that could be jump-started with new activity…“It is amazing for someone who walks back and forth on this one block from Milk Street to State Street how dead it is,” Pollack said. “The intention of this project is to open it back up and really reconnect these two significant parts of the downtown.”

Jump over to the Boston Business Journal to read the full article.

0 Workbar Offers a Network of Co-Working Office Space

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Workbar interior in Boston

Credit: BetaBoston

Have a peek at how some of the shared workspace providers manage users and spaces locally and worldwide.

From BetaBoston:

“Workbar has partnered with Fields Corner Business Lab and five other regional co-working spaces to create the Workbar Network, which will link these independently run facilities into a larger community…As part of the network, these [original] six sites are now using Workbar’s proprietary software to help manage their members, Cole says. The software provides tools for managers to check people in, coordinate conference room bookings, and promote events and happenings throughout the network at large. ‘It’s everything they need to run the space,’ says Cole.”

“’The reservation system is much easier to manage and it gives us more data,’ says Maudlin, who says the software helped them realize that they had a lot of people who only came to the space on weekends. ‘If we were going to do an event or do something for our members, we now know when are they there the most. It’s a lot more information that we can use to better service our members.’”

0 Seaport Sports New Wayfinding Signs

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Boston Seaport signs

Credit: B&T

I’m sorry, which way to the Seaport/Innovation District?  Let us help you get there.

According to Banker and Tradesman, “New wayfinding signs were installed in Boston’s Seaport District on Friday as part of a pilot program to make the fast-changing neighborhood more navigable to pedestrians and out-of-town visitors. The first phase includes signs designed to help pedestrians find their way from the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center to neighborhood landmarks such as the Fan Pier, Liberty Wharf and South Station.”

You can read more on the new Seaport signage on B&T.

0 Copley’s Iconic Hancock Tower Named Changed to 200 Clarendon St.

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John Hancock building at 200 Clarendon

Credit: BBJ

Good bye to the JHT, John Hancock Tower, hello 200 Clarendon Street.

From B&T:

Landlord Boston Properties has formally renamed New England’s tallest building, the 60-story John Hancock Tower, now that Manulife’s John Hancock Insurance division no longer occupies any office space in the mirrored glass rhomboid.

“We’re not allowed to call it (the Hancock Tower) anymore as the Hancock Manulife lease expired at the end of the second quarter,” Boston Properties President Douglas Linde said during a conference call today.

Boston Properties acquired the property in 2010 for $930 million. Leases by John Hancock and State Street Corp. totaling 414,000 square feet recently expired, increasing vacancies in the 1.7-million-square-foot tower. Boston Properties is repositioning the former State Street offices as tech space under the “120 St. James” name, reflecting a new entrance on that avenue.

 

0 Big Data Analytics Start-up Moves HQ from SF to Boston

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San Francisco vs. Boston.  Not on the playing field, rather at the recruiting table.

Big Data startup Rocana provides ops solutions for IT

Credit: Rocana

The Boston Business Journal recently wrote an editorial on a SF tech start-up that decided to situate its HQ in Boston. In the BBJ article, the CEO, “Trajman, who founded venture-backed Rocana about a year and a half ago, said that while San Francisco innovators are future-thinkers focused on the next big thing, Boston innovators are more focused on solving current issues with high-tech solutions…He said he hopes his company can serve as a role model for future entrepreneurial endeavors considering a Boston headquarters. Trajman joins several other startup founders who have said they’re committed to growing their businesses in Boston instead of in the West Coast.”

You can read the full article on the BBJ, here.

0 Cambridge Lab Space Leads US

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Kendall Square office space

Credit: BBJ

Great Boston leads the nation with the most expensive lab space.

According to the BBJ, quoting a Sciences Outlook report by brokerage JLL, “Boston and Cambridge are by far the most expensive life sciences markets to rent lab space in the United States…Greater Boston’s life sciences rental rates have climbed 7.4 percent this year to reach an average rate of $47.40 per square foot. In Cambridge specifically, the average lab rent is $51.60 per square foot, the report said. The report also said tenants are currently on the hunt for around 1.3 million square feet of space in the city.”

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

0 Seaport Traffic Relief Sought

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The Seaport snarl of traffic is about to get some trialed relief.  The bypass road will be opened to general traffic for a six-month trial.

map of proposed Seaport Traffic changes

Credit: Boston Globe

From the Boston Globe:

The biggest change begins Monday, when officials will open up a long stretch of the South Boston Bypass Road to all cars as part of a six-month pilot program. The street, created in 1993 for truck traffic from the Big Dig construction project, has been open only to commercial vehicles.

Cars will now be allowed to drive on the portion of the bypass near the convention center at any time, and on the eastbound section from Interstate 93 to Richards Street during the 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. rush hour.

Officials will also allow all passenger cars to travel on the barely-used High Occupancy Vehicle ramp on the northbound side of I-93 near downtown Boston, which brings traffic directly to the Ted Williams Tunnel, removing some airport-bound traffic from local streets.

 

0 Copley Place Upgrades Planned

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Copley Square updates

Credit: Bisnow

Copley Square is going to see some major upgrade to Copley Place.  Simon Properties in planning major interior and exterior upgrades with completion in the Summer of ’16.

Bisnow is reporting that, “come September, Copley Place begins both interior and exterior upgrades. Simon Malls president David Contis says the high-end shopping destination will have a more modern and cohesive look. Simon expects to add a number of luxury retailers. Copley Place will remain open during renovations, with the majority of the project expected to be completed by summer 2016.”

You can read the original post, here.