Winthrop Center | 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

tmac9wr said:
I think for the most part that's accurate. There are tons of financial institutions all over the city, but I think Back Bay is more popular with private equity. I remember when I worked in the Hancock and it seemed like every floor was occupied by a different PE firm.
Click to expand...

It sounds like all of BoA's HQ could be moving to Boston, not just their traders. Jobs like accounting, marketing and financial analysis. I think that would fit in either Back Bay or Downtown.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

FenwayResident said:
It sounds like all of BoA's HQ could be moving to Boston, not just their traders. Jobs like accounting, marketing and financial analysis. I think that would fit in both in Back Bay and Downtown.
Click to expand...

If that's the case, then I'd expect multiple locations in a layout pretty similar to what State Street has done. I think you'd see a lot of their front office operations & IR be in the financial district (Probably Post Office Square or, hopefully, at the site of the city garage)...then you'd see a lot of their back office workers, HR, etc. in the Seaport.

However, even if BoA were to move its HQ to Boston, I wouldn't be surprised to see them leave a lot of their backoffice operations in North Carolina.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

It's worth pointing out that the blog post has no claim of inside knowledge or any suggestion that BOA is actually thinking about doing this. This is one analyst working off of the fact that a lot of BOA executives are from Fleet and maintain second homes here, and assuming that the company might want a less provincial city than Charlotte as a HQ as they transition to a more global profile.

That's not an unreasonable argument, but if that's the case it seems more plausible that the HQ would move to New York, where the company already built a signature tower, than to Boston.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

Equilibria said:
That's not an unreasonable argument, but if that's the case it seems more plausible that the HQ would move to New York, where the company already built a signature tower, than to Boston.
Click to expand...

I think that the international argument though would lend itself equally well to Boston vs NYC. There is a ton of PE and law activity in Boston, and tends to be an equally attractive city to European or Asian talent due to the top universities and European feel. Mix that with slightly more reasonable housing prices and you could make a good argument towards Boston instead of Manhattan.

The article makes it fairly clear that the divisions that they are looking to relocate would be a better fit for Boston vs Charlotte. When I was job hunting I turned down an offer at BoA because they would have required that I move to Charlotte. Nothing against the city, but it is not nearly as attractive as other major cities for young people like myself.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

Galactic said:
I think that the international argument though would lend itself equally well to Boston vs NYC. There is a ton of PE and law activity in Boston, and tends to be an equally attractive city to European or Asian talent due to the top universities and European feel. Mix that with slightly more reasonable housing prices and you could make a good argument towards Boston instead of Manhattan.

The article makes it fairly clear that the divisions that they are looking to relocate would be a better fit for Boston vs Charlotte. When I was job hunting I turned down an offer at BoA because they would have required that I move to Charlotte. Nothing against the city, but it is not nearly as attractive as other major cities for young people like myself.
Click to expand...

Boston may be a short flight from Europe and possess all the attractive qualities you cite. That doesn't change the fact that it is not New York. If BOA is looking to be one of the global financial giants, well, those guys only have HQs in London, Singapore, Tokyo, Bejing, Hong Kong, and New York. Heck, even Tokyo isn't really on the list.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see BOA make the move up here. If it's global stature they want, though, Boston is a weird choice when a glassy supertall in Midtown already exists for them.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

In fairness, Boston is usually considered to be one of the ten best cities in the world when it comes to global financial services. It's not New York, but it's still considered one of the best. In fact I'm pretty sure it is one of the five largest cities in the world by AUM.
 
Last edited:
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

tmac9wr said:
In fairness, Boston is usually considered to be one of the ten best cities in the world when it comes to global financial services. It's not New York, but it's still considered one of the best. In fact I'm pretty sure it is one of the five largest cities in the world by AUM.
Click to expand...

http://www.cnbc.com/id/49185013/page/12

Just to add to this awesome conversation.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

coleslaw said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Financial_Centres_IndexThis probably says more, yes Boston is not New York but it is a powerhouse.
Click to expand...

Not to take anything away from Boston (it's definitely a financial powerhouse), but I don't really put that much stock in that list. Some of those rankings are dubious at best. Calgary over Sao Paulo? Vienna over Shanghai? Just because it's derived from a basket of indices doesn't mean it produces a meaningful metric.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

That is true but Boston is near the top of most lists
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

I'm thinking if San Francisco is big enough for Wells Fargo, BoA would be positioned quit nicely in Boston. If a bank was looking for NY "levels" they would spend just as much and move to London.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

FenwayResident said:
Not to take anything away from Boston (it's definitely a financial powerhouse), but I don't really put that much stock in that list. Some of those rankings are dubious at best. Calgary over Sao Paulo? Vienna over Shanghai? Just because it's derived from a basket of indices doesn't mean it produces a meaningful metric.
Click to expand...

True, but you gotta remember this is limited to financial services, not necessarily just economic power. Shanghai probably loses out on a lot due to Beijing and Hong Kong being so powerful. A lot of those Austrian/Swiss cities have lots of old money flowing through there as well. You'd never think a little berg like Luxembourg (population 500k) would be a financial power but due to their government rules, they're a gigantic hub for financial services in Europe.

Either way, here's a list with some rock-solid numbers to see just how big Boston is, at least in asset management. The numbers are pulled from a list of the 300 largest asset managers in the US:

1. NYC 101 firms totaling $11.670 trillion under management
2. Boston 26 firms, $5.563 trillion
3. Los Angeles 13 firms, $2.965 trillion
4. San Francisco 12 firms, $1.711 trillion
5. Philadelphia 6 firms, $1.589 trillion (95% is from Vanguard)
6. Chicago 17 firms, $1.508 trillion

The list is a couple years old...when I checked the 3 largest asset managers in Boston (State Street, Fidelity, and Wellington), they alone had grown enough to put Boston over the $6 trillion mark. I'd be willing to bet that globally, Boston is probably only behind NYC, London, and Zurich...maybe Tokyo too.

Ultimately, if BoA is going to try to become more of a "capital markets bank", as they suggested in the blog post, then they can certainly do that in Boston.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

can someone please drop a model of this into google earth and give us some skyline shots.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

A highly summarized story of big banks in Charlotte.

There were two big banks, Wachovia and NationsBank

Wells Fargo took control of Wachovia in 2008. NationsBank took control of Bank of America in 1998.

Two Wachovia towers. Wachovia Corporate Center became the HQ for Duke Energy. One Wachovia Center became One Wells Fargo C enter for Well's East Coast operations.

NationsBank's tower was renamed Bank of America tower when it merged with Bank of America, and changed its name to Bank of America. The new HQ for BoA was moved to Charlotte from San Francisco.

Charlotte might be fine as a HQ for a major regional bank, but not for a global bank. Too isolated.

And when recruiting and retaining bank professionals, North Carolina's recent tightening of education budgets is not a plus.

.http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...to-nc-higher-education-will.html#.VCriFWddVxU
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

Has there been any news on this? is it going to the BRA any time soon?
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

news would be posted here within an hour of release.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

Boston eyes garage site developer
Previous bidder Belkin has new proposal
Saturday, February 14, 2015

The Walsh administration is fielding new redevelopment proposals for the shuttered, city-owned Winthrop Square garage in the Financial District, where former Mayor Thomas M. Menino once envisioned a legacy-building, 1,000-foot tower that would be the city’s tallest.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority has issued a request for interest from developers after Trans National Group owner Steve Belkin — who originally planned to tackle that 1,000-foot tower back in 2006 — had reopened talks with the city about a scaled-down project. His latest proposal is a 740-foot tower that would incorporate his adjacent Federal Street property and include a 300-room hotel, offices, retail space and possibly condos. Belkin plans to respond with a proposal akin to that and said he’s confident his project would provide the “best urban planning solution.”

“Trans National Properties (TNP) is a critically important strategic abutter to the Winthrop Square Garage and the only developer who can create an iconic mixed-use office and residential tower by integrating this site with our existing building at 133 Federal St.,” Belkin said in a statement yesterday. “Our project will be able to move forward more rapidly than any other project as a result of the extensive work we have done and the materials that have already been developed.”

The city decided a new, formal search for a developer was warranted, according to BRA chief of staff Heather Campisano. The BRA solicited developer interest in 2006, and Belkin was the only respondent. The BRA board voted in 2007 to recommend the city designate Belkin as the developer, but the city never took formal action; the proposed tower height ran afoul of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Great Recession hit and Belkin shelved his plans.

“The market is obviously very strong right now,” Campisano said. “We put it out there, and we’ll see what comes back.”

The city is looking to “create a project of significance with a mix of uses that will further anchor the Financial District,” according to the request for interest.

It’s unclear whether the size of the parcel at 47,738 square feet would preclude developers from constructing anything other than housing without access to adjacent sites. “It certainly makes it a potentially more attractive development site having control over an adjacent parcel,” said David Begelfer, CEO of NAIOP Massachusetts, a commercial real estate development trade group.
Click to expand...

http://www.bostonherald.com/business/business_markets/2015/02/boston_eyes_garage_site_developer
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

We almost had the tallest building (Tommy's Tower) in all of New England practically at our doorsteps, and then it was killed because of some ridiculous height issues forced on the city by the FAA.

Then a 2nd shorter tower was to be built as a compromise, and it looks like even THAT program was killed also, so they are now back to Square One, with no tall tower there, but even today, that ugly dark dismal eyesore of an antiquated dinosaur garage still sits there like a scalded dog, unscathed!

They should put some type of a tall tower there in honor of a great legend who ran the city for over 4 consecutive terms (20 years)! :mad: :eek:
 
Last edited:
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

Severely off topic, but when did the term "Financial District" come to define downtown? It bugs me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top