Route 128 Developments

I agree. The problem seems to be that when building in those neighborhoods we get the same 128 buildings.
 
today Waltham
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this building always seems underconstruction? needs windows
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Bedford
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^thats funny! Newton/Wellsley
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which is taller this tv tower or the John Hancock tower?
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What i would really like to know is the difference between rents on 128 and say downtown Quincy, Worcester or Springfield etc....

Medium firms might not be able to afford downtown Boston, but there are other, urban spaces that might be more affordable.
 
Boston02124 said:
which is taller this tv tower or the John Hancock tower?
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Those tv towers are the tallest structures in the state. The 2 tallest are nearly 1300 feet each! Even the shortest one, which is the one w/out the guyed wires and with the flaired base at the bottom, is actually the tallest man made structure in New England! At just over 1000 feet, it's like having our very own Eiffel Tower right in Newton. I'm pretty sure the one you are talking about is 1296'. (compared with the John Hancock at 790')
 
They're near the Newton border, but they're in Needham.
 
At least one of them is in Needham, but most of them actually are in Newton, including the free-standing one.
 
palindrome said:
What i would really like to know is the difference between rents on 128 and say downtown Quincy, Worcester or Springfield etc....

Medium firms might not be able to afford downtown Boston, but there are other, urban spaces that might be more affordable.
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I met with a realtor yesterday who gave me a nice slick report on office rates in Boston, including the fringe areas Kennedy is talking about. In areas that the report terms "peripheral," rates are discounted by 25% over the Back Bay, and slightly more than that over the Financial District. I have no idea what the rates are out on 128, but I'd guess they offer a greater discount than that. Still, I would never make the recommendation that my company re-locate to the suburbs. There are many things we would have to trade for a rent savings, and many of those are not something I'd give up.
 
GW2500 said:
^^ Just curious, like what?
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  • The city represents a much easier commute for our employees due to its central location
  • It provides us with faster/easier access to clients, colleagues, etc. for face to face meetings
  • It lacks that sterile, vacuous feeling of a Waltham or Burlington (employee morale)
 
^^I wish more companies thought like yours.
 
My company made the move from 128 to the city about three years ago. Someone on the planning committee told me that they ran surveys before they decided to move which showed almost everyone under 35 favored the city, and very neary everyone over 35 wanted to stay in the office park. The split by age group was very real. They chose in favor of the youth vote, figuring that doing so was good for brand image, recruiting, morale, and a host of other factors. Truth is it's a very cosmopolitan and international firm (I've been on the phone with colleagues in three continents today already) and locating around 128 just felt downright insular to me.
 
DZH22 said:
At least one of them is in Needham, but most of them actually are in Newton, including the free-standing one.
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2 of them are in Newton (Tower Rd. and the one off Chestnut St). The trident is in Needham, and I believe the WBZ tower is in Wellesley.

Shepard, I'm a little worried about your company's logic. To me, it seems like a huge part of the motivation to locate in the suburbs is the desire to retain those young employees once they get married, have kids, move to the suburbs, and buy cars. Once you own a Lexus (or a Prius) you don't really want to commute on the train any more, and getting to Waltham or Burlington along 128 from Newton or Peabody is much easier than getting to Quincy center.

I don't own a car, I enjoy urban living, and I've mostly worked in downtown offices. I'm also under 35. But I can totally understand how those values could change.

I feel like what Boston needs is almost a ring of urban-ish centers along 128 (like Quincy is on 93, come to think of it...) Part of the problem is that whenever anything vaguely urban is proposed around there, like the Riverside development in Newton (13 stories) the neighbors go crazy... with reason.
 
Equilibria said:
Shepard, I'm a little worried about your company's logic. To me, it seems like a huge part of the motivation to locate in the suburbs is the desire to retain those young employees once they get married, have kids, move to the suburbs, and buy cars. Once you own a Lexus (or a Prius) you don't really want to commute on the train any more, and getting to Waltham or Burlington along 128 from Newton or Peabody is much easier than getting to Quincy center.

I don't own a car, I enjoy urban living, and I've mostly worked in downtown offices. I'm also under 35. But I can totally understand how those values could change.
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Your opinion here is probably quite typical - just watch HGTV first time homebuyers shows and you'll see many people under 35 with a very similar mindset (need the three bedrooms and home office! two car garage! walk in closet! oh no, too close to a busy road!)

But study after study has shown that car commuting - as opposed to train commuting or even bus commuting - is the unhappiest part of the day, and the net happiness benefit of living in suburbia is mostly cancelled out by the pain of car commuting. I know this sounds wishy-washy, but there is science behind it. And een if you don't believe that science, then just think about plain old time: driving from Needham to an office park in Waltham or Lexington could take just as long as the commuter rail, and then consider especially that you can be productive on the train - email, reviewing presentations, etc - that you just can't (or shouldn't) do while driving.

Last point: the key to making a downtown location work for the employees is building the idea of work-life balance into a real core value of the firm. Where I work it isn't empty cant. Anyone can work from home, from the road, take calls while dropping their kids off at school, show up in the office and leave at their convenience and not at any specified time, etc. Performance is judged by output. A firm that moves downtown needs to leave its 9-5 drone mentality at the office park.
 
^^Sounds great. I'd say you are lucky to work there, but I'm sure you've earned your place.
 
Obviously to each his own, but I prefere 9 - 5. I'll put up w/ bullshit from thoses designated hours mon - fri. After that go fuck yourself I'm going to live my life.
 
GW2500 said:
Obviously to each his own, but I prefere 9 - 5. I'll put up w/ bullshit from thoses designated hours mon - fri. After that go fuck yourself I'm going to live my life.
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Something tells me GW has been frustrated at work lately.
 
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