0 Rose Kennedy Greenway Realizing Potential

Posted on November 29, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Growing up, the Central Artery that hosted Interstate 93 was anything but a place to hang out; today it is a vibrant park hosting food trucks, Wifi and people on 15 acres stringing our city together.

According to the Boston Business Journal, “Lawn On D in South Boston, owned and operated by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority…is on track to reach more than $1.2 million in net revenue for 2016. That represents 300 percent growth over revenue of $400,000 generated the year prior…Since 2009, when the Greenway was first opened and some people in Boston were referring to the open space as the “Emptyway,” the Greenway has tracked growth by a number of metrics: food trucks and their patrons; third-party events along the Greenway and their attendees; wireless Internet users; and carousel riders, to name a few.”

More information on the Greenway’s growth is available on the BBJ, here.

0 Boston Planning Effort Eyes 2030

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

Boston will be 400 years old in 2030 and Mayor Walsh in starting to plan now for the event. Well, not cake, but working on a city wide master plan. The last time this was addressed was on this scale was 1965 that launched development like Faneuil Hall, Government Center and highway infrastructure.

From the Globe’s website:

“With cranes dotting the skyline and the city in the midst of an unparalleled building boom, Mayor Martin J. Walsh has launched Boston’s first citywide planning effort in a half-century. The two-year initiative, Walsh said, will go beyond a technical assessment of zoning and land use and will encapsulate residents’ aspirations for what the city should become by 2030…Over the next two years, city officials hope to work with residents to tackle contentious topics such as urban density and parking, public transportation, and affordable housing. They anticipate discussion about art and schools and entertainment.”

0 Boston Snow-clearing Progress Available Online

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Wil Catlin

The calendar has turned to February and we are in the midpoint of winter. When you consider a location for your new office you might want to check and make sure the address gets good service by the City of Boston Department of Public Works. You can also check out a new site, Snow Stats, that allows the city to post snow clearing activity. The site is by no means a snow-cam mounted on the front of the truck looking at what needs to be plowed, and a camera on the back looking at the results, but it is a start.

Credit: snowstats.boston.gov

According to the Boston Business Journal, “Snow Stats, officially launched by the city on Monday during the second big snowstorm in as many weeks, allows residents to monitor Boston’s snow operations including an overview of the season showing the total miles and hours plowed, salt used, and total snowfall. The site also shows what phase the snow operation is in, and what tasks are being completed in each snow response phase.”

You can read more on the site on the BBJ.

0 Tech Initiatives Set for Boston

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

Looking to use your smartphone to pay for parking in Boston? Thank the Mayor, who pushed a new app out the doors of city hall and launched in as a pilot in Back Bay. It was one of the Mayor’s six technology-centric initiatives announced recently. The full six tech initiatives are the following:

1.    Boston drivers can now feed their meters with a mobile app.
2.    Boston’s new partnership with SAP.
3.    The creation of “StartHub.”
4.    Leveraging big data.
5.    The unveiling of a “startup czar” position.
6.    New 3-1-1 upgrades.

You can read more on each of Mayor Walsh’s tech initiatives for Boston on the BizJournals website.

0 Weissman: Boston Real Estate Superior to New York

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Jason Weissman, founder of Boston Realty Advisors

Credit: Bisnow

Why is Boston better than New York? Our own Jason Weissman chimes in at a Biznow Event.

From Bisnow:

Boston Realty Advisors founder Jason Weissman says Boston outshines New York because it has less exposure to a downturn in government spending. Based on fundamentals and cash flow, he expects to see lots more property sales in 3% cap rate territory in 2015. Retail and office rents still have room for appreciation and greater cash flow will boost asset values. So much so that investors will start searching for deals in outlier markets, namely I-495 and southern New Hampshire.

0 Boston Real Estate Valued at More than $100B

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Boston is a $100 billion dollar city and the hub’s office tenants will be paying for it. Expect your office lease rates to rise with the new year’s tax bill.

Credit: The Boston Globe

From the Boston Globe:

“With the [Boston] real estate market surging, the total estimated value of its residential and commercial property jumped over that threshold for the first time and has climbed to a total of $110 billion, according to a new city assessment…The increase will mean significantly higher tax bills for many property owners next year, although the extent of those increases will not be known until tax rates are set in the coming days…To stave off sticker shock, the city’s assessing department has already begun reaching out to owners in some neighborhoods where values have increased the most.”

0 Office Buildings Planned Near Faneuil Hall

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Wil Catlin

rendering of office space on Quaker Lane in Boston

Credit: The Boston Globe

Quaker Lane in Boston? Must admit, some would have no idea where it is located. Well, changes are coming. This road is surrounded by the former Fidelity headquarters that was sold and is located near the intersection of Congress and State Streets. The proposed plan is to add retail services on the ground for, renovate the offices above and add residential component.

From the Boston Globe:

“A Boston real estate firm is proposing to redevelop a drab cluster of office buildings near Faneuil Hall into a more modern commercial complex with restaurants, stores, hotel rooms, and residences.”

“Our plan is to rejuvenate the entire block through a mixed-use redevelopment strategy,” said Stephen Faber, executive vice president of Related Beal. “These buildings and this location present us with the opportunity to . . . create a real destination.”

0 Boston Roadways Lag Behind the Real Estate

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: MassDOT

This major intersection was last updated 49 years ago on February 18, 1965. The requirements of our roadways are vastly different now and we need to take a proactive look toward the next 50 years as Boston and Cambridge continue to grow in both workforce and population.

Banker & Tradesman reports that “recently, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation convened a task force of about 50 members to advise the state on the redesign for the “Allston Interchange,” the spaghetti bowl of ramps and tollbooths in the middle of the rail yard adjacent to the Charles River and a neighborhood of houses and businesses.”

Additional information on the Allston Interchange is provided in the B&T article, here.

0 Boston Real Estate: High Demand for Office and Lab Space

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Two Cambridge Place

Boston continues to shine nationally due to our healthcare, education, finance, biotech and high-tech industries. Blackstone, owners of Equity Office are shopping their remaining Class A office portfolio to perhaps one buyer, which will push office rent even higher as the new ownership justifies their investment.

Here are some relevant projections for the Boston office market, from nerej.com:

A few key neighborhoods and areas will see particularly high levels of growth this year. Although major areas like the Back Bay and the Financial District continue to provide the largest amount of market space, growth and many new lease transactions will be seen in other areas, which provide more opportunities for company relocation and for out-of-town businesses to take root…Kendall Sq. in Cambridge is currently red hot, both for offices and for lab space in medicine, high-tech, and more. In particular, Google is coming in to Kendall Sq. and will take up 300,000 s/f of office space. Google will leave its own large footprint, while making the area even more attractive for other tech companies.