Turn to page B1 for Banker & Tradesman’s monthly coverage of all things commercial real estate.
THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND REAL ESTATE WEEKLY FOR MASSACHUSETTS BY THE NUMBERS
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County close-up: Suffolk Spotlight: Revere
Office lease negotiations aren’t just a question of rents and tenant allowances, but a reflection of how a company crafts its public image and maximizes its productivity. After eight years on the landlord side of commercial brokerage at EQ Office, Matthew George is advising companies on those decisions in a new leadership role in tenant representation.
IN PERSON
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WEEK OF MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE BY THE NUMBERS
N O T S O FA S T
AFFORDABILITY GOALS SLOW TO INFLUENCE JP/ROX DEVELOPMENT
4 stories The practical upper limit on development in the Egleston Square area under Boston’s Plan JP/Rox. See Steve Adams’ story on on this page. Source: City Realty’s Clifford Kensington
18,681 The square footage leased in Malden to drone firm KIWI Technologies. See the Lease Roundup on page B7. Source: Burgess Properties
167 The number of area low-income census tracts shown to have gentrified using a new mapping tool. See David Luberoff’s column on page B6. Source: Joint Center for Housing Studies
$150 million The most expensive commercial transaction to close in Massachusetts in the last month. See the list of top 10 transactions on page B3. Source: The Warren Group’s Statistics Module
200,000 square feet The size of an affordable housing redevelopment of Worcester’s downtown courthouse. See Jay Fitzgerald’s story on B1. Source: Trinity Financial
1 million square feet The amount of retail space that closed in Boston in 2018, with more expected in 2019. See Scott Van Voorhis’ column on page 3. Source: CoStar New England
5 Suggestions Metro Housing|Boston Executive Director Christopher Norris has to boost local housing production. See his column on page 5. Source: Christopher Norris
25 years The experience Cresa’s newest principal, Matthew George, brings to the table. See In Person on page 8. Source: Matthew George
Unless otherwise noted, all data is sourced from The Warren Group’s Mortgage Market Share Module, Loan Originator Module, Statistics Module and/or proprietary database. For more information please visit www.thewarrengroup.com/business/ datasolutions.
Incentives Not Enough for Big Gains BY STEVE ADAMS BANKER & TRADESMAN STAFF
W
ith apartment rents rising by double-digits in one of Boston’s last pockets of affordability, Boston officials singled out 250 acres along the MBTA Orange Line corridor in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain for an experiment in city planning.
Developers who set aside higher percentages of affordable units than the 13 percent citywide minimum could get density bonuses for additional square footage designed to make the economics of projects work, encouraging production of more market-rate and income-restricted units alike. Two years after the Boston Planning and Development Agency approved the JP/Rox Plan guidelines while police removed protesters demanding more aggressive affordability requirements, the jury is still out on the neighborhood impact. The program has neither sparked a mas-
sive building boom nor drastic changes in how private and nonprofit developers are designing and financing projects, housing industry executives say. Part of the reason is that the affordability requirements begin to cancel out the density benefits as buildings get taller. “There’s kind of a belief that the JP/Rox study has greatly increased the availability of density, where in actuality it’s still pretty much capped at three to four stories,” said Clifford Kensington, acquisitions manager at Brookline-based City Realty. Continued on Page 7
SUBURBAN STRUGGLES
ACCOUNTING ANXIETY
2019 Closures Will Likely Exceed 2018’s Already-High Totals
Significant Preparation Needed for Changing Accounting Standards
The Retail Apocalypse Has Come to Boston By Scott Van Voorhis | Banker & Tradesman Columnist
Commercial Real Estate PAGE 3
Nine Months Out, Banks Moving Slowly on CECL Implementation By Bram Berkowitz | Banker & Tradesman Staff
Banking & Lending PAGE 9