Monthly Archives: May 2013

Coffee with Colleagues at Synergy Investments

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The following blog post was submitted by David Fleming, Principal at PACE Communications Group, a marketing and PR firm that specializes in commercial real estate and retail.

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“Wherever [coffee] is grown, sold, brewed, and consumed, there will be lively controversy, strong opinions, and good conversation.”
Mark Pendergrast, Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World

More than 100 people gathered on May 14th in Boston at Synergy Investments for NAIOP’s Coffee with Colleagues, a networking breakfast event. The sold out gathering was held at Synergy’s new corporate headquarters inside the 100 Franklin Street building, which Synergy owns. In addition to 100 Franklin, Synergy’s commercial real estate portfolio contains some of downtown Boston’s landmark buildings including 250 and 253 Summer Street, 211 Congress Street, and 185 Dartmouth Street, among others.

David Greaney, Synergy’s founder and president, kicked off the event with opening remarks touching on Boston’s favorable real estate market. After, the gathering of commercial real estate industry professionals enjoyed refreshments and engaged in lively conversation.

Steve Brodsky, Synergy’s Chief Operating Officer, stated that the event went well. “We were pleased to see the strong turnout, and it was a great networking event,” said Brodsky. “It was a terrific way to celebrate our one-year anniversary in our new space here at 100 Franklin Street, while working with NAIOP in support of the industry.”

Others commented positively about Coffee with Colleagues:

Dorrian Cohen Fragola, VP Marketing and Business Development, Janitronics: “This morning’s event was a wonderful opportunity to network, reconnect, and meet new people. Synergy has been so active in Boston recently. It was good to hear more about its plans and meet some of its people,” said Cohen Fragola. “Thanks to Synergy for hosting and to NAIOP for another successful event.”

Joel Loitherstein, P.E; Associate, Tata & Howard: “Coffee with Colleagues was well worth the trip into Boston. These events are a great way to meet new people and reestablish connections with past clients and colleagues. The atmosphere is very comfortable and you get a chance to meet senior level people at major development, legal, and consulting firms in the Boston area.”

Coming Up: Boston’s Other Waterfront

On May 22, don’t miss another exciting NAIOP event: Boston’s Other Waterfront featuring Joseph Shea, Kairos Shen, and Peter Spellios. Beyond the Seaport District, the panel will discuss the future of Boston’s waterfront from Lovejoy Wharf to East Boston, and beyond. It’s sure to be a good one!

To see other events NAIOP has in store, visit the Upcoming Events page. See you at the next great NAIOP event!

Where Did All the Parking Go?

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The city-owned Winthrop Square Parking Garage, at 240 Devonshire Street, recently closed due to serious structural problems. Built in the 1960s, this Boston garage accommodated 550 cars at discounted rates from the much higher priced private facilities.

This now further exacerbates the commuter parking problem, already destabilized by the continuing loss of surface parking spaces due to the heated development activities in the Seaport area. Employers may soon start to hear the complaints, as workers begin to personally absorb these increased costs.

The “dirty secret” is that the only reason the Financial District’s parking freeze has worked for so long was that there was a large surplus of low-cost parking nearby.  The same goes for the Seaport’s parking freeze.  As more buildings eat up the surface lots, fewer spaces will remain – as demand increases substantially.

Commercial parking freezes are an ineffective means of providing cleaner air, especially when they are targeted exclusively at a particular municipality.  An unintentional result of a parking freeze is its negative effect on economic development, limiting the ability of new businesses to create jobs, existing businesses to expand, and leading, in many cases, to shifting growth to areas without such restrictions.

Maybe now is the time to rethink this outdated method of controlling auto emissions.

 

2013 Bus Tour Recap: The Suburban Transformation

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The following blog post was submitted by David Fleming, Principal at PACE Communications Group, a marketing and PR firm that specializes in commercial real estate and retail.Elisif_20130501_0150

Three signs that spring has finally arrived in Boston: 1) green grass on the Esplanade, 2) the Red Sox back at Fenway Park, and 3) NAIOP MA’s Annual Bus Tour. The 11th edition of the tour took place on Wednesday as more than 250 people aboard five buses toured properties along what is suddenly one of the hottest stretches in commercial real estate in the region: the Route 128 Corridor from Needham to Lynnfield. Here’s a summary:

Elisif_20130501_0115Kickoff at Needham Crossing

  • Needham’s Economic Development Director Devra Bailin, discussed efforts to rebrand the former New England Business Center as Needham Crossing
  • Justin Krebs and Mark Roopenian described two of Normandy Real Estate Partners’ projects along the route:
    • Center 128, which will redevelop Needham’s former New England Business Center into an 825,000-square-foot “super-park,” including a Marriott Residence Inn Hotel
    • Station at Riverside, which will transform MBTA’s Riverside Station into a mixed-use development featuring 295 apartments, a 10-story 225,000 square foot office building, and a 20,000 square foot retail village
    • Mike Wilcox of The Bulfinch Companies discussed development at Needham Crossing and the branding and leasing efforts at Atrium Center. Wilcox concluded with an exciting Atrium Center video that you can see here.
    • In his market overview, Jeremy Grossman of CBRE/Grossman Retail Advisors noted the “flight to quality” among retailers, New Urbanism, the continued expansion of restaurants, the intensifying battle among grocers, and the strengthening of regional markets such as Chestnut Hill, Lynnfield, and Northborough as key trends

Elisif_20130501_0215Bus Tour Highlights

Six tour buses, escorted by members of the MA State Police, traveled along Route 128 beginning in the Needham/Newton area and ending in Lynnfield. Here are a few highlights:

 

Elisif_20130501_0268Lunch and Learn at MarketStreet Lynnfield

The tour stopped in Lynnfield for lunch at MarketStreet Lynnfield, a 680,000 square foot mixed-use development currently under construction. Inside a space that will become a Shoe Market store, WS Development’s Tom DeSimone and National Development’s Ted Tye shared details of the joint venture scheduled to open in August 2013.

When complete, MarketStreet Lynnfield will include 395,000 square feet of shops and restaurants, 80,000 square feet of office space, 180 residential apartments known as Arborpoint at MarketStreet, and the 9-hole King Rail Reserve golf course.

Elisif_20130501_0282Voices on Tour

I caught up with a few people on tour. Here’s what they had to say:

  • Tom DeSimone, partner, WS Development: “There’s no better way to understand real estate than to actually be there. The NAIOP Bus Tour gets you closer to the real estate by providing an introduction. Then you can go back and look at whatever may have peaked your interest.”
  • Ted Tye, managing partner, National Development: “It’s great to people out here having a nice day, getting out from behind their desks, and seeing some projects that are being built. And, it’s incredible that in 2013 that we actually have things being built.”
  • David Chilinski, co-founder and president, PCA: “The best part of the NAIOP Bus Tour is that you really get a sense of what’s happening and, importantly, what’s new in the marketplace.  We all know the tried and true properties, but the tour lets you see new projects as well as cases where people are reinventing or adding to projects. That’s the importance of this tour.”
  • Sarah Walker Weatherbee, managing director, Keller Augusta: “You get a sense of history as well as what the future holds for the Boston-area markets like the ones we saw today. And, the networking that the Bus Tour enables is unique to NAIOP—that really makes the day exceptional.”


While here, please read David’s important post below about National Development’s Roseann Sdoia, who was seriously injured in the Boston Marathon bombings. David includes a link to Roseann’s Recovery Fund for those who wish to donate toward expenses for Roseann’s treatment and recovery.