The New Office/Lab Thread

BBJ reporting that the American Twine building in Kendall is being put up for sale (being driven by the lender):

The is a beautiful old brick-and-beam building. Might make a really nice loft-style residential conversion. It seems to have a lot of vacancy, though there are a couple of corporate tenants in there now. Sad situation -- it sold at peak in 2019 and new landlords put a lot of money into the building thereafter, only to have the office market struggle. We'll see what happens.

Hmm, just learned it is National Register of Historic Places listed:
en.wikipedia.org

American Net and Twine Company Factory - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
American_Net_and_Twine_Company.jpg

^from: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/American_Net_and_Twine_Company.jpg
 
Apparently Nvidia is planning to open a quantum computing research center in/near Boston at some to-be-disclosed-later location:
www.thecrimson.com

Nvidia to Open Quantum Computing Research Center in Boston This Year in a Landmark for Region’s Tech Sector | News | The Harvard Crimson

Technology giant Nvidia announced last Thursday that it will open a quantum computing research center in Boston by the end of 2025, where it will host research in partnership with labs at Harvard, MIT, and tech firms in the area.
www.thecrimson.com www.thecrimson.com
 
bigpicture7 said:
Apparently Nvidia is planning to open a quantum computing research center in/near Boston at some to-be-disclosed-later location:
www.thecrimson.com

Nvidia to Open Quantum Computing Research Center in Boston This Year in a Landmark for Region’s Tech Sector | News | The Harvard Crimson

Technology giant Nvidia announced last Thursday that it will open a quantum computing research center in Boston by the end of 2025, where it will host research in partnership with labs at Harvard, MIT, and tech firms in the area.
www.thecrimson.com www.thecrimson.com
Click to expand...
Globe also recently covered this news:
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/21/business/nvidia-boston-quantum-computing/
 
Oddly enough, as of January Boston is building way more office space (including lab) than anywhere else in the country. It's actually more than the 2nd and 3rd cities combined! Considering we have a housing crisis this is way too much. I'm going to place most of the policy failure on the NIMBY zoning because, at the stunted heights allowed across most of the area, labs/offices tend to be more profitable than residentials. The zoning should allow taller residentials compared to the labs/offices, in order to make them more attractive to propose and build.

I mean, this is bleeping ridiculous:
1744217119401.png


www.commercialcafe.com

Office Pipeline 2025: Construction Slowdown Expected to Stabilize Vacancy Rates

Following a 44% year-over-year drop and standing at an estimated 55 million square feet, the total volume of U.S. office space under construction this year is the lowest it’s been in a decade. Even so, a look at construction activity across U.S. markets reveals Boston’s continued dominance (8.7...
www.commercialcafe.com www.commercialcafe.com
 
DZH22 said:
Oddly enough, as of January Boston is building way more office space (including lab) than anywhere else in the country. It's actually more than the 2nd and 3rd cities combined! Considering we have a housing crisis this is way too much. I'm going to place most of the policy failure on the NIMBY zoning because, at the stunted heights allowed across most of the area, labs/offices tend to be more profitable than residentials. The zoning should allow taller residentials compared to the labs/offices, in order to make them more attractive to propose and build.

I mean, this is bleeping ridiculous:
View attachment 61739

www.commercialcafe.com

Office Pipeline 2025: Construction Slowdown Expected to Stabilize Vacancy Rates

Following a 44% year-over-year drop and standing at an estimated 55 million square feet, the total volume of U.S. office space under construction this year is the lowest it’s been in a decade. Even so, a look at construction activity across U.S. markets reveals Boston’s continued dominance (8.7...
www.commercialcafe.com www.commercialcafe.com
Click to expand...

Huh. Is this mostly South Station Tower? Where else is office space being built? The building over the Pike?
 
Blackbird said:
Huh. Is this mostly South Station Tower? Where else is office space being built? The building over the Pike?
Click to expand...

It combines office and lab. We have built more lab space than anywhere else in the country.
 
Blackbird said:
Have built, sure. But as of Jan ‘25, how much is U/C?
Click to expand...

Apparently a lot, according to that chart. 2 huge ones in Kendall. 2 significant ones in Fenway (not including that Kenmore air rights one). The construction phase lasts a few years so ones that are almost done would count in the list, along with ones that are working on foundation but not out of the ground. I believe it's based on the metro area so you could add in stuff like the big new buildings in Waltham off the highway.
 
DZH22 said:
Apparently a lot, according to that chart. 2 huge ones in Kendall. 2 significant ones in Fenway (not including that Kenmore air rights one). The construction phase lasts a few years so ones that are almost done would count in the list, along with ones that are working on foundation but not out of the ground. I believe it's based on the metro area so you could add in stuff like the big new buildings in Waltham off the highway.
Click to expand...
Make that 3 huge ones in Kendall. The new Biogen HQ at 75 Broadway (Volpe parcel C3), which will add 0.6M Sq-Ft, just broke ground and should be considered u/c. Not sure if it made that January list, but it will contribute to sustaining the amount of sq-ft u/c.
 
Just counting the major projects that people have been posting on the forum:
South Station tower 0.7m
10 WTC 0.6m
Volpe C3 0.6m
290 Binney 0.6m
585 Kendall 0.5m
Alewife Park 0.7m
Fenway center 0.7m
Landmark Center 0.5m
109 Brookline 0.3m
Allston Labworks 0.5m
Harvard ERC 0.7m

That's already 6 million square feet of labs and offices without leaving Boston/Cambridge lol
 
I'm skeptical about that data. NYC has a pretty good amount of construction going on. I know a lot is residential, but there are some MASSIVE office buildings going up (like the new JPMorgan tower). Hard to believe Boston has over 2.5x as much space currently under construction.
 
itchy said:
I'm skeptical about that data. NYC has a pretty good amount of construction going on. I know a lot is residential, but there are some MASSIVE office buildings going up (like the new JPMorgan tower). Hard to believe Boston has over 2.5x as much space currently under construction.
Click to expand...

The article touches on Manhattan (which apparently is separated from its metro).
"More precisely, in Manhattan, N.Y., after the completion of a series of projects that broke ground before the pandemic, output dropped from 13 million square feet in 2023 to about 3 million square feet in each of the next two years. Los Angeles followed a similar pattern as new office developments went from representing 3% of stock in 2021 to less than 1% in 2025."

Interesting, Boston's output has also declined significantly, but is still bolstered by all the spec labs.
"First, the Boston pipeline currently has some 7.3 million square feet of office space — a total that has declined by 50% year-over-year. Meanwhile, San Francisco’s projected output shrunk from nearly 7 million square feet in 2024 to just 3.5 million square feet this year. Moreover, much of the growth in this market is focused in the areas surrounding San Francisco, such as San Mateo County."

There's a lot more info than just the chart I posted above.

www.commercialcafe.com

Office Pipeline 2025: Construction Slowdown Expected to Stabilize Vacancy Rates

Following a 44% year-over-year drop and standing at an estimated 55 million square feet, the total volume of U.S. office space under construction this year is the lowest it’s been in a decade. Even so, a look at construction activity across U.S. markets reveals Boston’s continued dominance (8.7...
www.commercialcafe.com www.commercialcafe.com
 
bigpicture7 said:
Hasbro Toys is looking for 200,000 - 250,000 sq.ft. in/around Boston.

www.bostonglobe.com

Hasbro toys may relocate to Boston from longtime Rhode Island headquarters - The Boston Globe

The company behind Monopoly, Nerf, Play-Doh, and other classics has been headquartered in Rhode Island since it was founded in 1923.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

Needless to say there's no shortage of prime opportunities for them...
Click to expand...
Hasbro announced on April 11 it is delaying a decision on whether to move to Boston. Concerns about Trump's tariffs are the reason.. About 40 percent of Hasbro's tous are made in China.
 
The developers of 85 Webster in Somerville is applying to extend its special permit approvals to 2030. They are having trouble finding a spot to relocate Royal White laundry to and building it out.

More interesting is that the narrative includes a discussion of the (grim) state of the lab market in the greater Somerville area. TL; DR: it’s ugly and there aren’t many prospects for a quick improvement.
 
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