Boston Booms as Workers Say No to Suburbs: Real Estate

[Purveyor]

By Nadja Brandt - Mar 12, 2013
The South Boston waterfront was long a bleak area separated from the rest of the city by the Fort Point Channel, its docks and warehouses recalling a faded shipping past. Now, rechristened the Seaport district, construction cranes dot the landscape as builders put up high- end condominiums, offices and hotels in one of the biggest neighborhood transformations in Boston history.

“The waterfront is an overnight success that’s taken nearly 30 years to come to fruition,” said Brian Kavoogian, president and founder of Charles River Realty Investors LLC, which has developed or acquired more than 20 million square feet (1.9 million square meters) of real estate in the Boston metropolitan area. “It finally reached a tipping point.”

Boston’s real estate market, often overshadowed by the skyscrapers of New York and government-fueled growth in Washington, is seeing a boom in construction as developers financed with cheap debt seek to profit from a growing workforce of educated young adults and strength in the technology and life-sciences industries. The office-vacancy rate is among the lowest of major U.S. markets and tenants are occupying new space at almost triple the national average.

Construction spending in Boston increased an estimated 37 percent in the year ended June 30 to $3.83 billion, the most since 2008, according to the mayor’s office. The market is hot enough that some developers are considering building offices without having landed anchor tenants.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-12/boston-booms-as-workers-say-no-to-suburbs-real-estate.html

[Recursion]

1. I miss working in Fort Point

Great area. The transit sucks (curse you, silver line!) but maybe they'll improve that.

[Purveyor]

3. One part of the country I've never made it into. On my list though. eom

[WilliamPitt]

8. You wouldn't recognize it anymore.

[Recursion]

9. Yeah, the buildup was starting when I left in 2010

I was sad to see that old dive bar go, but the Whiskey Priest was nice

[geek tragedy]

2. The increase in demand for affluent housing in urban areas

is in some ways a reversal of the 'white flight' of decades past.

Of course, this winds up pretty much being "thank you poor people of color for tending to the neighborhood while we were gone, now find a way to pay triple your rent or move to a shithole in a distant outlying neighborhod."

[Recursion]

4. I'm sure we'll be gentrifying the suburbs in 20 years

All the hipsters will move to Scarsdale and Leesburg, and the Circle of Life will continue.

[geek tragedy]

5. There's only so many haves vs have-nots. nt

[4Q2u2]

6. Nothing New

Boston has for years never taken care of it's born and raised ethnic populations. Selling out the poor for "progress" at any turn.
It was not only white flight but a lot of cases white and black pushed out.

[Capt. Obvious]

7. Now if they'd just fill that gaping pit at Downtown Crossing

[danial3262]

10. A very sought after location to live is

the Seaport condos which are in such high demand currently and are a beautiful piece of property to be had. With the amazing surrounding restaurants and city attractions.