BOSTON: Tech in the Financial District

Landlords of ‘70s and ‘80s towers in the historic Financial District have been laying out the welcome mat for tech companies and growing start-ups filled with Millennials. The Silicon Valley’s PayPal Media Network found a “fantastic” match in late ’12 when it moved into 65k SF at International Place (long the premier Financial District office for traditional firms), says COO David Chang.  PayPal's 160 employees—many young—like the access to transit, restaurants, other startups, and a growing VC community, he says. The landlord of the 1987 tower, the Chiofaro Co, sealed the deal by being flexibile in configuring the space and making another 65k SF of expansion space available.

Besides its central location and great transportation, for the first time in its 400-year history the Financial District is getting housing: thousands of new luxury apartments are under construction or in development. Now, it’s a live/work/play address. With many companies downsizing or moving to the trendy—and more expensive—Seaport, there’s available Financial District office space for tech newcomers. Last month, custom security software developer Rapid7 moved into 100 Summer Street (built in 1974) because it found a large block of space with expansion options that could be reconfigured for the way it works, says CIO Jay Leader. This is a “huge opportunity” to create a frictionless office with no high walls and few closed rooms that transmits the Rapid7 “culture and energy between groups.”