0 Downtown Crossing Redevelopment Progresses: Roche Bros. Nears Opening

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office space in downtown crossing rendered

Credit: BBJ

The transformation of what was once the busiest pedestrian intersection in the city continues.  Roche Brothers answers the call to fulfill the long awaited hope for Downtown Crossing.

From the Boston Business Journal:

“renovation of the 102-year-old property began a year ago. Its restoration is part of Millennium Partners’ $689 million redevelopment of the shuttered Filene’s site. Adjacent to the Burnham will be Millennium Tower, a 625-foot building comprised of 442 luxury residences above 95,000 square feet of additional retail space on its lower floors.”

0 Boston Harbor Towers: Rendering and Prospective View

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The new proposed look of Chiofaro’s Waterfront project was unveiled last night.  What does a $1B 1.3milling square foot project look like?  Well, like the envisioned Harbor Towers.

The Boston Globe offers a “rendering showing a view of the new Harbor Towers buildings from the harbor. The new buildings are at the center of the rendering, to the right of the existing Harbor Towers buildings”:

rendering of Boston harbor towers

Credit: The Boston Globe

Continue on to the Globe’s website for additional photos of the view from the water, towards the Financial District.

0 Needham Hospital – Beth Israel Renames Glover Café

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Needham BI cafe renamed

Credit: Wicked Local

The Beth Israel in Needham is now renaming the hospital’s Glover Café to the Trotman Family Glover Café as a result of the generous gift donated to the Cancer Center and Surgical Pavilion on behalf of the Trotman family.

This change is just one of many taking place within the hospital throughout Needham as Beth Israel continues to grow and raise funds towards its goal of opening the new Cancer Center and Surgical Pavilion mid-September 2014.  BI in Needham’s commitment to the immediate Chestnut Street area has since resulted in a number of office and retail investments around the hospital.

0 Needham Street Businesses Add Outdoor Seating

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3 Squares restaurant on needham st adds outdoor seating

Credit: Wicked Local

Businesses in Needham and Newton continue to grow as nearby restaurant owners look to add a new outdoor seating area along the Highland Avenue/Needham Street corridor. This is in response to the new office users/businesses throughout the area looking to take advantage of the amenity-rich corridor.

Wicked local’s coverage notes, “a  new outdoor seating area with 26 full-service tables is opening at 3 Squares restaurant. The Zoning Board of Appeals approved the project – which required special authorization because it’s zoned in the Industrial District – last month.”

You can find the full article, here.

 

 

0 Kendall Square and Cambridge Office Space: Cost Continues to Climb

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cambridge ma over the river

Credit: BBJ/bizjournals

The price of office space in the Boston Market continue to ratchet up and squeeze out those who signed their lease in the recent downturn. Rents in Kendall Sq. have continued to climb due to limited supply  and large national tech firms wanting to be there. Small firms are finding opportunities a couple of stops away on the Red Line’s Downtown Crossing stop,  where the Class B market is pricing in the low to mid $30’s PSF.

A report in the Boston Business Journal offers some quantification for the pace of office space transactions  in Cambridge and Kendall Square, noting “data from Cassidy Turley reveals that 323,135 square feet of space was absorbed in Cambridge’s already tight office market between Jan. 1 and June 30, while average rents in the life sciences and technology hub increased by 14 percent on a year-over-year basis…according to the report, office availability in Cambridge fell to 10.5 percent in the second quarter while average rents rose to $50.33 per square foot, up from about $44 a year earlier. The city’s office market is comprised of approximately 10 million square feet of leasable space.”

You can read the full article on the BBJ’s website, Bizjournals.

0 Boston Mayor Strongly Opposes Parking App

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Haystack app and founder

Credit: Baltimore Sun

Selling information in some cities is OK, while in others, it’s frowned upon or outlawed. What would you pay to know that a parking space would be waiting in the Financial District? Would you post that information to an app for a couple of bucks?  Haystack hopes that you care to know in a number of cities across the country.

The opportunistic parking app, however, was not well-received in Boston by the city’s new Mayor. The Boston Globe described the strong response by city officials:

“Boston officials have escalated their rhetoric opposing a new mobile app that lets drivers trade public parking spaces for cash, but they are not doing anything to stop the service…Mayor Martin J. Walsh accused Haystack, the Baltimore startup that makes an app with the same name, of artificially inflating parking prices and giving some drivers an unfair advantage over others…the city’s Transportation Department ‘will take appropriate measures to prohibit any such app'”

0 Boston Leather District Attracting Tech Firms

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Our tour history of the last 180 days is 75% of the Class B tenants in the market are: Tech, Ad Firms or Architects and Design firms. Today’s tenant in the market is looking for unique amenities like; bike storage, pet friendly, shared conference space, roof decks. One of the places in Boston tech firms have been gravitating towards in the Leather District in Boston.

map of tech companies in Boston leather district

Credit: BetaBoston

Betaboston has compiled a map of tech firms in Boston’s Leather District:

“In the fall of 2011, ed tech startup Boundless set up shop in an office in Boston’s Leather District, a tiny neighborhood sandwiched between Chinatown and the Financial District. Terrible Labs and Yesware would follow in mid-2012…since then more than two dozen tech-related companies—including the Techstars Boston accelerator and Startup Institute, and Uber’s local office—have taken up residence in the neighborhood, named for its former status as a leather industry hub.”

0 Ink Block in Boston Continues to Take Shape

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Real Estate in Boston Ink Block

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Ink Block continues to take shape with the kickoff of the residential building consisting of 475 units.

From the Boston Business Journal:

“Last year, National Development began construction on Ink Block, which, in addition to the 83 condos, will include 392 apartments, a 50,000-square-foot Whole Foods supermarket, and 35,000 square feet of other retail in six buildings on the 6-acre site. Occupancy is set for the next year.”

0 Needham Street in Newton: Hit by Water Main Break

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Store closed in Newton from water main break

Credit: Needham.WickedLocal

Business owners along Needham Street suffered a tough day on Wednesday, July 16th when a water main burst on the Route 9 side at about 9:00am, first flooding and then buckling that portion of the Street. Many businesses were shut down due to this emergency and I can speak personally by saying that as a commercial real estate broker, office buildings along the Needham Street corridor were not accessible for tours with prospective Tenants. Boston Realty Advisors represents two buildings along the Needham Street corridor affected by this water break.

Details on the situation are available on Wicked Local.

0 Newton: Commercial Real Estate Trades in Abundance

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Office building in Newton Ma

Credit: TheRealReporter

Low interest rates coupled with a high activity of development along the Route 128 corridor has persuaded yet another Landlord in the Newton market to divest a few of his properties. Furthermore, the urban infill sector has become extremely competitive over the past 18 months, with Needham and Newton both reaping the benefits of an improved economy and a rise of multifamily and retail offerings on the Needham Street corridor. This has led to more businesses coming to the area and more tenants looking for office space within each market.

For more information on movement within the newton and needham commercial real estate markets, click to view the RealReporter’s pdf.