Back Bay Infill and Small Developments

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mssrro

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Bit surprised that I couldn't find an existing thread for this.

Does anyone know what's happening with the American Ancestors' redevelopment of 97 Newbury St.? Seems like work has been on pause for a while now.









(from yesterday)

Demolished building:



Proposed new building:

 
Was the building so decayed that they needed to completely rebuild it? It looks like they’re aiming for a carbon copy of the old building.
 
RandomWalk said:
Was the building so decayed that they needed to completely rebuild it? It looks like they’re aiming for a carbon copy of the old building.
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Yeah that was their argument:

We purchased the adjacent building at 97 Newbury Street to help meet these educational and programing aims; we recently took possession of the building finding it had been neglected beyond the first floor:

• Lack of fire rating and life safety code compliance
• Façades in disrepair
• Roof structurally compromised
• Majority of interior in ruinous condition
• Significant HAZMAT remediation needed (asbestos found in flooring materials, roofing materials, and plaster walls throughout the building; lead paint throughout)
Click to expand...

https://www.boston.gov/sites/defaul...ury-Presentation-BBAC-2021-08-11-Final v2.pdf

The new building is also going to have more square footage (going from 4,656 to 6,693 SF) and floors that will align with 99-101 Newbury's.
 
Re: the lack of progress. Possibly when they demolished the old building, they found structural deficiencies in the brick wall of the American Ancestors building? The top-to-bottom bracing below the old roof line suggests there is a concern about the stability of the wall(s).
 
If you look closely you can see that the bracing is holding up the remaining outer brick walls of the demolished building that were left behind. This could be to temporally support the walls until they can disassemble them carefully to not damage the buildings next door, maybe theyre going to reuse them on the new structure, I’m not sure.

In the bottommost picture you can see the outline of the fireplace next door in the remaining wall, where it looks like the wall was built around the fireplace essentially tying it in to the wall of the previous building. So this means it would have to be taken apart carefully as to not tear down the neighboring fireplace. They may decide its not worth the trouble and just reuse the wall on the new building after repairing it. I guess well see. Either way it looks like the bracing is only there to support the remaining walls, not the buildings next door.
 

The Wesleyan on Copley​

weslyan.jpeg


“Situated directly across from Copley Square, the building will boast a new retail facade and office entry, a Parisian-style lobby, seven full-floor office suites, and 4,000 square feet of amenity space. Delivering in 2025.”

https://www.bldup.com/projects/581-boylston-street-784c6489-a52a-46a7-a827-1f08f9e67413
 
To be fair, looking at the interior renders they've posted you would be easily forgiven if you thought it was a residential project. Frankly, 4000 sqft is actually fairly small as far as offices go - would be decent for someone like a small boutique law firm or design group.

1000030880.jpg

1000030882.jpg
 
bigpicture7 said:
Because those could make for some gorgeous well-situated office suites and many people still use offices.
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But there is a glut of well situated office space in the city. What is the vacancy rate, 20% or more? (And that misses all the underutilized space.) Who is lending this developer the money under those conditions?
 
JeffDowntown said:
But there is a glut of well situated office space in the city. What is the vacancy rate, 20% or more? (And that misses all the underutilized space.) Who is lending this developer the money under those conditions?
Click to expand...

But none quite like this and in such an ideal location. Can’t imagine they’ll have much trouble finding a few boutique money managers/family offices, law firms, foundations, etc. to fill the space.
 
kmp1284 said:
But none quite like this and in such an ideal location. Can’t imagine they’ll have much trouble finding a few boutique money managers/family offices, law firms, foundations, etc. to fill the space.
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It is a gorgeous space and location. Who knows, the investors behind it could be a family office who plan to occupy one of the suites.
 
JeffDowntown said:
It is a gorgeous space and location. Who knows, the investors behind it could be a family office who plan to occupy one of the suites.
Click to expand...
I mean, this just happened in a similarly gorgeous, well-situated building right nearby:
bostonrealestatetimes.com

Law Firm Butters & Brazilian LLP Leases About 4,000 SF at 420 Boylston in Boston - Boston Real Estate Times

Boston- A.W. Perry announced a new lease, as well as long-term tenant lease renewals and expansions totaling more than 15,000 SF at 420 Boylston Street in the heart of the […]
bostonrealestatetimes.com

^I view stuff like that as analogous, where a law firm, creative/design firm, boutique consultancy, etc, wants a small high-quality, visitor-friendly space in an enduringly valuable location.

I'm with you on the surplus, which I agree is going to drive action...but some of that action is going to be upgrades/restoration (if there's inherently high enduring value) and placing the space as a more attractive offering back on the office market, some will be resi- conversion, and some might be total repurposing of the parcel. It's all going to depend on the situation.
 
Small floor plates like this are perfect for the small professional (lawyer, accountant, psychologist, etc.) firm or sole proprietor. In the early 20th century, the plate would be subdivided further and the plans even retain the common bathrooms.
 

Hilton Back Bay Hotel in Boston Trades for $171 Million​




“BOSTON– JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality group announced that it arranged the $171 million sale of the Hilton Back Bay hotel, a 390-key hotel in Boston.

JLL worked on behalf of the seller, Ashford Hospitality Trust, and procured the buyer, which was a joint venture between Certares and Belcourt Capital Partners. JLL also secured acquisition financing for the buyer.
The full-service hotel features an on-site, 209-space parking garage, as well as a restaurant and bar, fitness center and outdoor space.

The Hilton is located at 40 Dalton St. and benefits from an ideal location in Boston’s sought after Back Bay neighborhood, within walking distance of the city’s leisure, corporate and convention demand generators. The hotel is situated near the Hynes Convention Center, the Prudential Center, Copley Place, Fenway Park, Newbury Street, Berklee College of Music and Northeastern University….”

https://bostonrealestatetimes.com/hilton-back-bay-hotel-in-boston-trades-for-171-million/
 
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