Boston Office Space for Lease and Rent | BostonOfficeSpaces.com

0 State Requests Proposals for Parcel 13 in Back Bay

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

Is now the time for Parcel 13? Well yes it is. Between residential, retail and office developments there is strong demand for more new development projects. Our city population continues to grow along with our daily workforce population. More companies are seeking locations that allow their employees live, work play environments that don’t include driving, but rather rely on public transportation or models like ZipCar and HubSpoke.

From the Boston Business Journal:

Known as Parcel 13, the site represents 54,500 square feet of air rights over the Massachusetts Turnpike, adjacent to the MBTA’s Hynes Convention Center Station on the Green Line. State officials say the site will accommodate up to 320,700 square feet of development that could include a mix of housing, dorms, retail and hotel uses.

0 Burnham Building in Downtown Crossing: AOL First to Move In

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Wil Catlin

AOL employees wait to go into the Burnham building in downtown crossing

Credit: Boston Business Journal

The former Filene’s building in downtown Boston has welcomed it first tenant, AOL. AOL moves into the rejuvenated downtown crossing area of Boston and becomes the new building’s flagship name for now.

The Boston Business Journal indicates, “AOL officially became the first tenant to move in to the renovated Burnham Building in Boston’s Downtown Crossing this morning…The New York-based media and tech company moved about 50 employees into sixth floor office space…Next Monday, 600 employees from advertising firm Arnold Worldwide and its sister agency Havas Media will move into about 125,000 square feet of the building, at the corner of Washington and Summer streets.

More information on the Burnham Building’s prospective tenants are available on the BBJ’s website.

0 Boston’s Highest-Valued Commercial Real Estate, According to Uncle Sam

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

We all look up and see new office towers in Boston and an abundance of high-priced commercial real-estate, but what are they taxed for all of that luxurious space? According to the BBJ, “the city’s commercial tax rate is $31.18 per $1,000 of assessed value, down from $31.96 last year. For fiscal year 2014, which ended June 30, the city collected $1.1 billion in commercial tax levies. The assessed value of a property does not always reflect the actual value since the data is lagging. For example, One Beacon, the 34-story tower at the edge of the Financial District, recently sold for $561.5 million, but is assessed at $341 million.”

A slide show exhibiting Boston highest-taxed buildings is available on the BBJ, here.

0 Full Block of East Cambridge Office Space Eyed

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Wil Catlin

East Cambridge lab space continues to be sought over by some heavyweights in the life sciences. The BBJ is reporting that “Bristol-Myers Squibb is on the hunt for up to 200,000 square feet of office and lab space in Cambridge, the latest major life sciences firm to crowd into one of the hottest commercial real estate markets in the country…the New York-based pharmaceutical giant, which already occupies 60,000 square feet of space in Waltham as well as 400,000 square feet in Devens, is targeting new research and administrative space in East Cambridge’s Kendall Square neighborhood, home to some of the biggest drug and technology developers in the world.”

Additional details are available on the Boston Business Journal

0 Kendall Square Office and Lab Space in High Demand

Posted on September 7, 2014 by Wil Catlin

office space on binney street in east cambridge

Credit: BBJ

East Cambridge is host to some of the best know pharma and tech companies. Lab space has become a very limited commodity and Amgen is in the hunt for 150k RSF. According to CoStar the lab vacancy rate among the 17 buildings is 7.1 percent on a direct basis or 17.3 percent including sublets.

The BBJ puts the competitive Kendall Square real estate market in perspective:

The East Cambridge office and research market includes only 6.4 million square feet — meaning…three deals alone could lock up about 10 percent of the neighborhood’s entire inventory when all is said and done. The activity, along with strong leasing among major information-technology players, is fueling a pricing surge in East Cambridge that has seen average annual rents surpass $58 per square foot, by far the highest in the region and among the highest for any neighborhood in the country, according to market data provided by Cassidy Turley in Boston.

The full article is available on the Boston Business Journal, here.

0 $500M Copley Plan nears Completion

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Bisnow

Simon is finalizing their plans for Copley to bridge over the Pike.

Biznow reports, “the interior of the 625-foot residential tower—109 condos and 433 apartments—that will accompany 115K SF of new retail is still undefined. But ODA founder Eran Chen intends for it to be contemporary, international, and elegant to echo Boston’s strong economy, growing global cache, and reflect the unique site that straddles the historic Back Bay and South End. To create a new level of luxury living, the vast interior space will also be intimate and personal through the choice of materials and space configuration. The amenities will provide a “world of activities”: perhaps a spa, wine storage, private entertaining, and meeting rooms.”

Additional information on the Copley Place Plan, along with a sequence of images, can be found on Biznow.

0 Back Bay Office Building Sells to Blackstone for $117M

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Blackstone is the suitor for 399 Boylston Street in Boston’s Back Bay for $508.69 PSF. National coverage in Bloomberg, reports “Blackstone Group LP (BX) agreed to buy a 13-story office building in Boston’s Back Bay district for $117 million, seeking to increase income by re-leasing space in a strong market, said two people with knowledge of the deal…The seller of 399 Boylston St. is Shorenstein Properties LLC, which has owned the building since 2007…The brick-and-glass property, built in 1983, has about 230,000 square feet (21,400 square meters).”

399 Boylston St. office building in Boston

Credit: Shorenstein Properties

Follow the link to read Bloomberg’s article on the sale of 399 Boylston Street.

0 Office Rents Influenced by Proximity to Bike-Share Kiosks

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: CityPhile

So as you consider where you would like to locate your new office what often comes up is area amenities. One such amenities is Bike-Share, and if you plan on being near one, expect to pay a premium in your office rents.

From Banker & Tradesman:

“Boston has the highest percentage of residents who walk to work of any major U.S. city at 15.1 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Bike commuting is a small but rapidly growing niche, rising from 1 percent in the 2000 census to 1.7 percent in the community survey, which spanned the years from 2008 to 2012….Hubway has a variety of payment plans designed to appeal to everyone from tourists to everyday commuters, ranging from $85 for an annual membership to a $6 pass for 24-hour access. Ridership has topped 500,000 trips since this year’s program began April 2, with a fleet of 1,300 bikes at 139 stations in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville, according to Alta spokeswoman Emily Stapleton.”

0 BBJ Posts First-look at Wayfair’s new Copley Place HQ

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Want to see what Wayfair’s new HQ look like? Jump over to the Boston Business Journal for a peek at Wayfair’s new office in Back Bay’s Copley Place.

Credit: Boston Business Journal

The BBJ’s accompanying article notes Wayfair’s “new office space totals 275,000 square feet and all of the company’s employees in Massachusetts will have moved into the space by next summer. Copley Place is a mixed-use complex with 845,000 square feet of Class A office space in four towers. On-site amenities include 75 shops, two hotels, and 1,500 parking spaces.”

0 Tech Companies Drive up Office Rent in Boston

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BetaBoston

Boston ranks 7th in office rent growth compared with 20 other cities over the last 24 months. The reason for the expeditious growth rate, according to a study released this week by CBRE Group Inc., and posted on Banker & Tradesman, is the “growth of high-tech employment [that] helped drive double-digit office rent increases in Boston over the last two years.”

More information is available on B&T’s website.