Category Archives: Boston

In November I wrote about a potential new ferry service that was being pitched to help shuttle commuters between North Station and the Seaport. Earlier this month, several employers notified their employees that starting in mid-January the service would begin thanks to their support in underwriting the cost of the service; at this point it appears the service will be free to those employees but it is not clear if the service will be available to the general public.

The service will be managed by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) and will take 18 minutes, running between North Station’s Lovejoy Wharf (by the Converse HQ) and Fan Pier (by the ICA Boston). Ferries will operate every 20 minutes Monday – Friday in the morning between 6:20AM – 9:40AM and in the afternoon / evening between 3:20PM – 7:00PM.

1/11/19 UPDATE: Ferry Service originally scheduled to begin the week of January 14th has been pushed back to start in early February due to ongoing work on the Lovejoy Wharf. 

The ferries will have an indoor capacity for 92-passengers and climate control to make the commute as comfortable as possible.

It’s no secret that hotels are expensive in Boston but one week after the South End’s newest hotel The Revolution opened, another hotel targeting the budget conscious-traveler with an eye on European tourists and Millennials has opened; this time in Bay Village / Theater District.

Found Boston Common has just opened in the building formerly known as the Milner Hotel at 78 Charles Street South. The new hotel chain with hotels in Chicago, DC and San Diego targets budget conscious travelers and has plans to open in six more cities by 2020. The building which dates back to the late 19th century when it first opened as the Sumner Hotel, is marketing itself as a “micro hotel” with 66 private and 2 shared hotel rooms. The building has been completely remodeled with two lounge areas where travelers can gather, offering an affordable, social, stylish place for travelers in a prime location of the city.  The decor could be described as minimalistic with an ivory and dark blue color scheme, dark herringbone floors, and walnut accents. However, the most amazing thing about this new hotel is that nightly rates start at $39.

You can learn more about Boston’s newest hotel by visiting their website or liking their Facebook page.

While Boston is not as expensive as Manhattan or San Francisco, the cost of living and price of real estate remains a problem but that’s not an issue for the people who recently rented a three-bedroom penthouse at the Millennium Tower for $30,000 per month. The 4,137 square-foot pied-à-terre (I joke) includes an office, library, four and a half bathrooms, two parking spots and beautiful views with their floor-t0-ceiling windows. Want to see more? Check out the pics here.

While the rental may seem crazy, it is small potatoes when compared to the 60th floor “Grand Penthouse” which takes the entire top floor and has eight bedrooms, nine full bathrooms, three half bathrooms and is on the market for $45 million.

The construction boom in the Seaport has created more congestion than city planners anticipated and while there have been some pretty crazy suggestions to help alleviate congestion – like an aerial gondola system – the idea of adding ferry service seems to be gaining traction. A privately funded ferry service to shuttle passengers between the Seaport District and North Station has been proposed and could start in early 2019.

It appears that to make this economically viable the organizer behind the concept is looking for a commitment from several large employers in the Seaport. The other reason for the delay is the dock at Lovejoy Wharf near North Station will not be ready until the end of 2018. Stay tuned because unlike the crazy idea of floating gondolas – this idea has a lot of merit and could significantly cut down on commute time for people coming from north of the city. It would be nice to see the Baker Administration, which likes to talk a good game about investing in infrastructure and claims to be championing creative solutions to mass transit step up to the plate and help make this a reality.

With all the construction happening in the South End and Seaport it can be easy to forget that the number of large construction projects happening in downtown Boston neighborhoods is astounding when compared to the city’s recent history.

One project that recently caught my attention is The Hub on Causeway, which is transforming the West End. The project includes office space, housing, hotel, retail and more:

• more than 850,000+ square feet of office space
• more than 200,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space, including a new grocery store and cinema
• 540 new underground parking connected to an existing garage
• 440 residential units
• 260 room hotel

In a new national survey from Urban Land Institute and PwC, Boston’s real estate market stands out. The survey, which ranks the hottest real estate markets in the U.S. saw Boston jump three spots to seventh in the nation.

“Boston is at the center of a number of real estate trends like redevelopment,  technology, and sustainability.”

Boston’s younger workforce, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) job market, sustainability efforts and redevelopment were all attributed to the rating jump. Boston scored exceptionally high when it comes to investors’ demand and local public-private investments.

In the survey, Dallas-Fort Worth ranked number 1 in the nation but Boston’s ranking as 7th best makes it the highest-ranked gateway market in the 2019 survey. You can see where other U.S. cities rank in this annual survey in the PwC report on page 37, Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2019.

Earlier this week the Boston Business Journal reported that Mayor Marty Walsh is looking to increase Boston’s housing goal from building 53,000 units to 69,000 new units (a 30% increase) by the year 2030.

Back in 2014 the city of Boston’s population was just under 660,000 and was expected to grow to just over 700,000 by 2030. But with Boston’s population growth has forced the city to revisit their initial forecast and revise their population estimate to approximately 760,000 residents by 2030.

The neighborhoods that the Mayor would like to focus on building new housing includes Sullivan Square, Newmarket and Widett Circle, the Fort Point Channel, Suffolk Downs, Readville and Beacon Yards. The mayor is also boosting the number of affordable-housing units goal to 15,820, which (if met) would mean Boston would have approximately 70,000 new income-restricted units.

You can read the full article from the BBJ here.