News
Waterfront Wait Over
October 9, 2012
| The four decade-long struggle to revive the Boston waterfront is approaching a historic moment, as the Seaport District’s largest developer plans to start construction on $1B in projects, including a 500k SF office in Q3 ‘13. We found out more from Boston Global Investors CEO John Hynes, a partner with Morgan Stanley in the $3B, 6.5M SF mixed-use Seaport Square development. | |
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| Vertex’s 1.1M SF HQ complex under construction nearby reflects confidence in the waterfront as a next generation office location. John (right, at a Bisnow event guest) has a plan for a multi-tenant, Class-A office building that relies on: the overall strength of the city’s office market; the waterfront submarket's coming of age; and the business sector’s acceptance of the waterfront. Downtown Class-A tower space is close to 6% vacant with “no new office tower announcements on the horizon,” John says. Rent for new Class-A space is in the mid-$50s/SF and will rise if the economy keeps growing. “That’s what we need to get started.” | |
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| Our camera doubles as an amateur cartoonist. What makes it a premier office location? John cites the $3B federal investment in cleaning Boston Harbor, modern intermodal transportation infrastructure (aka the Big Dig), plus the new residential and retail development under way. Potential office tenants include life science, tech, and financial service companies aiming to relocate or expand between ’15 and ’17. Seaport Square has three sites zoned for 500k SF offices . Next year, John expects construction to start on a 125-key hotel, 1,000 rental apartments, and 300k SF of retail. Developers will come to light soon, but AvalonBay is not among them. | |
