0 Personifying Commercial Real Estate Goes Beyond a Name

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Herald

What’s in a name? In short, research. The goal is for the name to project the building’s identity and brand to its current and future prospects.

From the Boston Herald:

Krista Bourque, creative director of Branding Iron, a real estate branding studio inside Boston architectural firm Stantec, says a lot of research and thought goes into a name, including the history of a site, the surrounding neighborhood and an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the competition. She says a building’s name is a big part of its brand identity and how a property is perceived by its investors, potential buyers or renters.

“Giving a building a name is about giving it a personality and creating an image that differentiates it from the competition,” adds Brenda Adams, owner of Adams Design, who has been naming projects since 1990, including the South End’s Penmark and North Station’s Strada 234.

0 Boston Commercial Real Estate Retrospective

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Boston office buildings line the skyline

Credit: The Boston Globe

The city of Boston that is home to a wide variety of college, universities, professional sports team, hospitals and companies is changing. We have created the Back Bay, built office tower and now adding more buildings to our skyline. No longer are the tower views home to companies, but residences.

The Boston Globe has put together a retrospective, “A new age for an old town”, tracing the Hub’s commercial transformation. The article notes the following:

Today, Boston Properties, one of the city’s most prolific builders, is developing a 17-story office building on the final parcel within the Prudential complex. Meanwhile, the area around the Pru is exploding with new projects and proposals for hotels and towering residential buildings.

“It’s absolutely extraordinary,” said Bob Richards, a partner at Transwestern RBJ. “What’s driving it is the top-tier labor talent in industries like technology and life sciences. The young people who work for those companies want to live in an urban environment.”

Not coincidentally, the city’s population is rising more rapidly than it has in decades. The total head count rose by nearly 30,000 people, to about 646,000, between 2010 and 2013, according to the US Census Bureau. That’s more population growth in three years than Boston experienced in the 1980s and ’90s combined.

0 Boston Commercial Real Estate Trends towards Open Floor Plans and Collaborative Workspaces

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Organizations are knocking down interior office walls faster than you can spell “collaboration.”

Boston Realty Advisors estimates more than 75% of tenants today are looking for open floor plans, as opposed to traditional layouts with closed-door offices and high-walled cubicles. The trend for open offices is giving fresh legs to a proven phenomenon. Many organizations site open floor plans as a core element to their company ethos and ultimately, a key reason for their success. Zappos, for example, credits its open floor plan as a critical element to establishing and maintaining its culture. From a few employees 15 years ago, to more than 1,500 today, Zappos has maintained its open floor plan throughout the company’s history.

The push to open floor plans isn’t just for employees and middle management. In fact, many CEOs are leading the charge. By placing themselves alongside the team, the benefits are clear: increased availability, greater transparency and a heightened awareness to company culture and communication. The tired corporate adage, “My door is always open,” pales in comparison to today’s mantra, “I don’t have a door to close.”

Wayfair, the Boston-based online home furnishings company, proudly describes its collaborative C-suite structure. “At Wayfair, there are no corner offices. In fact, there are no offices at all. We support an open, transparent workplace where leaders mentor the 1,600+ bright talents that sit among them – and visa versa.”

Another organization, The Bridgespan Group, detailed their journey from a traditional office environment to a new, open floor plan. Their tale serves as a playbook for organizations considering an open floor plan:

·         Open café to bring colleagues together
·         Laboratory space for teams to meet and brainstorm
·         Library-like space for quiet work
·         Comfortable seating areas for small-group meetings
·         Private rooms for private conversations
·         Sitting and standing work stations for day-to-day use
·         Glass-walled conference rooms for full transparency
·         Noise dampening techniques to muffle distinct words
·         Lockers for personal items

So, get out that sledgehammer and start creating a vision for a collaborative work environment.

Alternatively, follow the link to our property pages to view available Boston Commercial Real Estate.

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.