Blogs

Deals & Developments

A regular blog by Banker & Tradesman columnist Scott Van Voorhis offering his unique, often irreverent take on the world of Massachusetts commercial development.

• Last Nail In The Coffin For Dreams Of Hollywood East

  Something positively reeks about the Patrick Administration’s decision to effectively axe the state’s stunningly successful film office czar, Nicholas Paleologos.

  
  

• Here's The Secret To John Henry's Bottomless Pockets

  Wow, has John Henry begun channeling the late, great George Steinbrenner?

  
  

• Lost Opportunities Or Just Bluster From Convention Center Boosters?

  That’s my question after reading the interim report looking at whether it is time to put down big money for an expansion of the six year old Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

  
  

• Construction Recovery On Hold?

  A key measure of business activity in the architectural field has fallen back into negative territory after showing signs of life earlier this fall.

  
  

• City Hall's Downtown Crossing Land Grab

  “Selfish.” That’s what Mayor Thomas M. Menino is calling office tower owners who are balking at forking over big money to tidy up troubled Downtown Crossing.

  
  

• Elite Towers Selling Just Fine, But Others Still Struggle

  That’s the latest finding by the number crunching real estate wonks over at MIT.

  
  

• Hot Cambridge Market A Sign Of Things To Come?

  With downtown Boston and the suburbs still awash with empty office space, that certainly would be nice.

  
  

• Reboot Needed For Boston's Skyline?

  There’s no lack of empty corporate suites to pick from in downtown Boston right now.

  
  

• At Least Somebody Is Making Some Money Out There

  Top Boston Properties execs raked in some big dough last year.

  
  

• The Great Skyscraper Fire Sale

  Other downtown office tower owners are surely watching nervously and hoping the Hancock’s new owners won’t slash rents in a bid to fill up all that empty space.

  
  

• Soros’ scary warning on commercial real estate

  If you think the residential market bust has wreaked havoc on the economy, just wait until you see the commercial real estate version.

  
  

• Rentals anyone?

  Developers are great copy cats. One guy builds a new luxury condo project, does well, and suddenly he has ten competitors following in his wake.

  
  

• A Silver Lining To The Troubled Office Market?

  Who says there aren’t killer opportunities during downturns, even one as bad as this one is shaping up to be?

  
  

• Let’s Hope The Hub Is Not On Spitzer’s Comeback Tour

  Developers can certainly be a colorful bunch. As a long-time business writer, I can say getting a chance to follow the Donald Trumps of the world makes the field a fun one to write about.

  
  

• For Developers, A Bad Economy May Not Be So Bad In Some Ways

  It’s funny how as the economy goes from bad to worse, the proposals for new projects become ever grander. Yet there may be a method behind all this seeming madness.

  
  

• Bargain Basement Shopping At Faneuil Hall

  The offers are in for a package of unique urban marketplaces, the Hub’s Faneuil Hall Marketplace, New York’s South Street Seaport and the Harborplace & Gallery in Baltimore.

  
  

• If you own a downtown condo, well stop complaining

  If you bought a condo in Dorchester, Roxbury or Mattapan in the past few years, you might as well have taken all that money, stuffed it into a bag and thrown it over the Longfellow bridge and into the Charles.

  
  

• Bashing The So-Called “Fat Cats”

  OK, is this really the best time to start targeting what has been one of the brightest stars of our state’s battered economy?

  
  

• The FBI’s Neverending Real Estate Hunt

  Maybe Boston will land that giant new FBI regional headquarters after all.

  
  

• Keep Your Eye On The Cambridge Market

  If downtown Boston is the old economy of financial services and law firm jobs, Cambridge is the capital of the new economy of biotech and tech firms, from fledging start-ups to international giants. But the reports from the headquarters of our economic future are distressing.

  
  

• Oops, your tower will be 21 stories shorter!

  Usually when a Hub developer makes a “mistake,’’ it has the beneficial result of adding a few floors to the top of his tower.

  
  

• A Gutsy Move By Boston Properties

  Boston Properties is putting on ice construction of a nearly $1 billion Big Apple skyscraper.

  
  

• Get Ready For Another Sublease Tidal Wave

  The last recession unleashed a torrent of sublease space that wreaked havoc in downtown towers and in Rt. 128 office parks alike. In the wake of the the tech market collapse, a raft of companies dumped space directly on the market, bypassing building owners and landlords.

  
  

• A Big Story That’s Getting Buried

  It’s a big story, a really big one. But you wouldn’t know it from the coverage it’s getting.

  
  

• More trouble ahead for downtown towers

  When it comes to the commercial real estate market, especially to the gleaming towers that are the pride of city skylines across the country, the downturn is just kicking into gear.

  
  

• Not As Big A Gamble As You Would Think

  There sure are a lot of big development plans out there right now, but not a lot of actual building going on right now.

  
  

• Gov. Patrick’s Costly New Regs

  If it comes to the choice of killing more jobs in a bad economy or having a river so clean you can bend down and drink from it on a hot day, I’ll choose jobs.

  
  

• Today’s luxury condos tomorrow’s affordable housing?

  The downtown Boston market has been flooded with new luxury condos over the past few years. For most people not making Wall Street-sized salaries, there has not been much to look at here. Now many of these units are sitting on the market, unsold and waiting for better times.

  
  

• Bucking Sluggish Economy, Boston Properties Boosts Rents

  Our hometown real estate giant was nicked in the second quarter with a 2 percent decline in earnings.

  
  

• Take That Las Vegas – Boston To Get Its Own Caesars Palace

  With Bay State lawmakers debating casino gambling once again, Suffolk Downs has jumped into a big lead in the scramble for a potential gambling license.

  
  

• For Battered Construction Industry, Great Recession Lingers

  The jobless rate in the construction industry has hit a whopping 20 percent and is growing even as the economy rebounds, a key industry trade group contends.

  
  

• Back Bay The New Flagship For Boston’s Office Market?

  When it comes to office vacancy rates, the Back Bay continues to widen its lead over the struggling Financial District.

  
  

• Finally, A Commercial Real Estate Bailout?

  Now here’s an idea – tax breaks for investors who put money into troubled office towers and suburban office parks.

  
  

• Fidelity's Move No Surprise Here

  Really now, how could anyone be shocked that Fidelity is closing its Marlborough campus?

  
  

• As Market Heals, Tower Owners Toughen Up

  Corporate tenants have been scrambling to take advantage of low rents while they can.

  
  

• The Great Recession Is History, But Did It Change The Office Market Forever?

  Well let�s just say there are growing signs the worst economic downturn since the Depression has left a lasting and indelible imprint on the office market.

  
  

• Greenway Bust: Shame On Us – Well Most Of Us - For Not Seeing It Sooner

  The Globe has finally written the obituary for all those fanciful plans to pack the Greenway with a bevy of new museums and cultural institutions.

  
  

• Will 20 Percent Down Cure Or Kill The Housing Market?

  For home buyers, it looks like the gravy train is finally over.

  
  

• Office Tower Prices Headed Up, Home Prices Headed Down

  Office and commercial properties posted a nearly 20 percent price increase in 2010, the MIT Center for Real Estate recently reported.

  
  

• Is Your Town Or City Tough To Build In? Well Boston Properties Wants To Talk To You

  Developers just love to curse and moan about local officials and their crazing zoning rules.

  
  

• Commercial Brokers Busier - Even As Tenants Stay In Place

  Any business is good business for hard-hit commercial brokers. It has been a lean couple of years.

  
  

• Glimmer Of Hope For Landmark Roxbury Development?

  There has been a lot of hype over the years about the potential redevelopment of Parcel 3, a large tract of vacant land off Tremont Street.

  
  

• Awesome! Higher Taxes, Fees And More Government On The Way For Boston’s Office Market

  Now that should be enough to spoil your lunch, especially if you own or lease space in downtown Boston.

  
  

• Back Bay, Route 128 Emerging As Greater Boston's Hottest Office Markets

  That was one of my takeaways from Jones Lang LaSalle’s annual market overview. The food wasn’t so bad either.

  
  

• Commercial Real Estate Shaping Up To Be A Hot Investment In 2011

  Real estate investment trusts are back – and back big time.

  
  

• Health Care To Drive Commercial Real Estate Rebound?

  I'm betting 2011 will be a rebound year for commercial real estate. That said, which sector will lead the way - high tech, financial services or biotech.

  
  

• A Taxing Time Of Year For Boston Towers

  The Hub is poised to release its new commercial and residential tax rates as soon as tomorrow.

  
  

• Capuano Wins Big As Chelsea Snares New FBI Fortress

  Congressman Michael Capuano may have fallen short in his bid for a Senate seat.

  
  

• Thankful For An Office Market On The Mend

  It is a pretty glum Thanksgiving for the battered home sales market. Probably the cheeriest item is the temporary drop in foreclosures as banks frantically check their records amid the embarrassing robo-signing scandal.

  
  

• Hated At Boston City Hall, New York Tycoon Revered Everywhere Else

  Vornado chief Steve Roth is just the latest superstar tower builder to discover what a funny, upside-down world developing a major project in Boston can be.

  
  

• As Gambling Talk Cools Here, Foxwoods Still Braces For A Battle

  A former Wall Street investment banker who has spent the last few years turning around troubled casino, Scott Butera is taking over as Foxwoods' new chief executive.

  
  

• A Sad Goodbye to Two Boston Area Landmarks?

  Say it isn’t so. The future of two of my favorite haunts – The New England Mobile Book Fair and Edaville Railroad – are both up in the air.

  
  

• At Least In Commercial Real Estate, The Buyers Are Back

  Boston Properties’ decision to go for it on the Hancock tower looks increasingly well timed.

  
  

• A Tale Of Two Real Estate Markets

  Wow, the contrast between the slowly improving office market and the ever more troubled house sector gets starker by the day.

  
  

• Greater Boston's Commercial Real Estate Market Finally Turning Corner?

  At last, some good news about the battered office market.

  
  

• List Of Turkey Development Projects Grows

  I recently took aim at a number of “turkey’’ development proposals that have sat on the drawing boards in Boston for a decade or two, tying up prime real estate.

  
  

• As Hancock Deals Heads Down To Wire, Hometown Real Estate Giants Loom Large

  The sale of Back Bay’s iconic Hancock tower is headed towards the finish line and Boston Properties and Beacon Capital are both in the final group of bidders, industry executives say.

  
  

• Boston Properties Latest Tower Play – Bullish Or Just Crazy?

  You’ve got to hand it to Mortimer Zuckerman and Doug Linde over at Boston Properties – they clearly believe the commercial real estate market is headed for better days.

  
  

• Hope For Hard-Hit Newbury Street, Downtown Crossing?

  Investors may still be playing it cool when it comes to buying office towers. But they are starting to warm up once again to the idea of buying strip malls, power centers and other retail real estate, according to a new survey by Jones Lang LaSalle.

  
  

• Hard times for Boston’s new deluxe hotels?

  Forget about downtown Boston’s struggling luxury condo market. If you really want something to worry about, take a look at the city’s new crop of super-luxury hotels.

  
  

• The Coming Office Tower Bailout?

  Well, things are certainly bad enough for that. But whether Congress and the country have the political will to dole out hundreds of billions more for another set of perceived fat-cats, this time rich office tower owners, is another question altogether. But if it’s just on the merits of the case, commercial real estate wins this rather grim contest hands down.

  
  

• New Fenway Hotel Poses Big Questions For Sox

  So the Sage family, after years of talks with just about every developer in town, has finally reeled in a big one.

  
  

• More Sweeping Changes On The Way For The Office Market

  Developers who build office towers and suburban complexes take note. As companies get lean and mean in a bid to survive the Great Recession, they are rethinking the way they use office space. And the conclusion, unfortunately for those in the development business, is that they need less, not more space.

  
  

• Social Media Madness

  Say hello to Stefan Frey, a principal at Commonwealth Commercial Advisors in Medfield and my guest blogger for today. Stefan takes a look at a question that is dogging lots of folks, and not just in comnmercial real estate. To be successful, we are also supposed to become social media fanatics, constantly posting, blogging and Twittering the day through. Wonderful. But who has the time? And, more importantly, does it work to bring in business?

  
  

• Forget That Skyscraper And Buy A Warehouse

  Forget the flashy stuff. If you want to make a little money in some tough times, invest in a warehouse, or better yet, a new apartment building. That’s the recommendation of a new industry report that turns some traditional ideas about commercial real estate investing on their head.

  
  

• Hail To The State’s New Gambler-In-Chief

  Newly minted House Speaker Robert DeLeo is set to take center stage in this fall’s debate on Beacon Hill on whether to legalize Las Vegas style slot machines, industry insiders say.

  
  

• Duck, Here Comes The Great Tower Market Collapse!

  There’s a stunning, $165 billion out there in loans on downtown towers across the country waiting to be refinanced, with few takers among our still shell shocked lenders. The potential for another major collapse, this time in the commercial real estate sector, clearly weighed on Fed officials in their confab recently.

  
  

• More Casino Rumblings on Beacon Hill

  Gov. Deval Patrick and top state lawmakers insist nothing’s going to happen until the fall, when there will be hearings and a vote on whether to finally open up the Bay State to casino gambling. But as these things go, many of the key details will have been already hammered out by then behind closed doors.

  
  

• Wellesley, Weston And Nantucket: Still Good Real Estate Bets Or Grossly Overpriced And Headed For A Tumble? What’s Your Take?

  There have been few better investments in the past few years than real estate in some of the Bay State’s most exclusive suburbs and resorts.

  
  

• Harvard Freezes Allston Land Buying, For A Year Anyway

  Here’s a pretty big story that so far is not getting much traction. Harvard University President Drew Faust is announcing a year-long moratorium on further land purchases in Allston, the Harvard Crimson reports.

  
  

• Local builders brace for higher costs

  A mountain of new regulations aimed at forcing businesses to do everything from reengineer parking lots to buy expensive solar power could add billions in costs to already beleaguered businesses. So with the real estate market reeling, what better time to heap thousands in additional costs on the construction of new homes?

  
  

• Worst Quarter For Office Market Since After 9/11

  Looking at the grim numbers, I’m placing my money on a vacancy rate in downtown Boston that is well north of 20 percent before commercial real estate hits bottom. Right now, it’s already over 13 percent in top-shelf towers in the Financial District and the Back Bay, and the unemployment numbers just keep on rising.

  
  

• Tower Foreclosures Picking Up Speed

  The troubling trend of commercial properties going belly up appears to be picking up speed. The last few days have brought news of more towers hitting the foreclosure block, one here in Boston, the other in New York.

  
  

• Can Community Banks Pull Us Out Of Recession? Frankly, I’m Skeptical

  I am a big fan of small banks.

  
  

• Boston’s Many Bridges To Nowhere

  OK, so with a mayoral race in full swing, there’s more than enough hot air to go around.

  
  

• Expand Boston’s Convention Center Now - And Save Us All A Whole Lot Of Money

  It’s a potential train wreck that’s easy to see coming.

  
  

• Casino Intrigue Builds On Beacon Hill

  Don’t be fooled by all the talk from our top state leaders that the gambling debate is on the back burner until the fall.

  
  

• Another Turnpike Development Fiasco

  Let just hope the Pike’s latest air-rights screw up will be its last.

  
  

• Good Luck To The Turnpike’s New Real Estate Guy – He’ll Need It

  It looks like the Turnpike has a new real estate chief.

  
  

• If You Think Downtown Boston Rents Are High, Think Again

  If you thought downtown Boston rents were bad, think again.

  
  

• Obama’s Medical Office Stimulus Plan

  With the economy at low ebb, it’s tough going for Boston area office landlords as they try and figure out where their next tenant is going to come from.

  
  

• Love Fenway Park? Thank Carl For Helping Save It

  Here’s a shout out to Carl Koechlin.

  
  

• The Sad Saga Behind Independence Wharf

  I don’t know if Independence Wharf is jinxed. But after reading Paul McMorrow’s excellent story on the troubled waterfront high-rise in the June 22 issue of B&T I certainly have my suspicions.

  
  

• The Recession Catches Up With Boston’s Office Market

  It usually takes a while the office market to catch up with the economy.

  
  

• Want To Fill Those Empty Storefronts? Cut Your Rents, Newbury Street

  It’s good to see Mayor Menino try to drum up interest in the ever growing array of empty storefronts along Newbury Street and the Fenway.

  
  

• Hotels Join The Troubled Asset Club

  It’s not just office towers that are in trouble now. The hotel sector, which just a year or two ago looked indestructible, is now showing signs of stress as well.

  
  

• Good Show, Don Chiofaro. But What In The World Are You Doing?

  The antics of the colorful International Place developer certainly make entertaining reading. Faced with staunch opposition from City Hall and influential neighbors, Chiofaro has taken to the streets, literally, to promote his bold plan to build a pair of twin towers overlooking the Greenway.

  
  

• Hello Higher Hotel Taxes, Goodbye Convention Center Expansion?

  That’s the question I have reading about Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s push to boost Boston’s already high hotel room tax even higher.

  
  

• Developers Await Feared New Environmental Regs

  The next couple of months could be huge for Bay State developers. In August, state environmental officials will release a proposal for tough new rules on storm-water runoff.

  
  

• Hub Development Star Faces Global Challenges

  Poor John Hynes. The once star Boston developer certainly has his hands full.

  
  

• A Tale Of Two Markets, One Office, The Other Biotech

  The outlook for the downtown Boston tower market has been fairly gloomy.

  
  

• Please, At Least Tell Me We Are Hitting Bottom

  That was my reaction after reading through Jones Lang LaSalle’s report on the dismal showing by the Boston office market in the second quarter. The second quarter saw one of the steepest rises in the office vacancy rate on record, according to a new report by Jones Lang LaSalle.

  
  

• Foxwoods Debt Mess And The Bay State Gambling Debate

  Just when gambling boosters at the State House finally appear to have the upper hand, along comes Foxwoods to spoil the party.

  
  

• Sure Glad We Are Not Silicon Valley

  OK, now I feel a little better. I just finished looking at a report by CresaPartners on the battered Rt. 128 office market. Vacancy rates are edging towards the 20 percent market, rents are plunging and there’s 3.5 million square feet of empty space sitting on the market.

  
  

• The Downtown Condo Market, Invincible No More

  The downtown condo market looked all but invincible for so long. No longer. For my Commercial Interests column in this week’s B&T, I took a look at a survey of 13 new Boston condo projects by the PrimeTime Urban Report found just one sale per month.

  
  

• Downtown Condo Market Dead? Not So Fast, Says Top Broker

  Kevin Ahearn, the dean of the downtown condo market, offers an interesting counterpoint to my B&T column this week on the struggles of the downtown condo market.

  
  

• Sox Architect Lands A New Job Amid Renewed Questions About The Team’s Development Direction

  Just a matter of a week or two after leaving the Sox payroll, Janet Marie Smith, the charismatic architect who helped save Fenway Park from the wrecking ball, has landed a new gig.

  
  

• Menino’s Primary Day Gift?

  I am sure it was all just a big coincidence. But the timing of Fan Pier’s big lease deal, well that was certainly interesting.

  
  

• City Hall Grills Developers On Financing

  Ever wonder what happened to all that tough talk out of City Hall last fall about grilling developers on financing? Recall the dark days of last October, with the stock market in free fall and the global financial system in meltdown mode.

  
  

• Boston Properties Mogul Eyeing Media Properties

  Mortimer Zuckerman is best known around here as chairman of our hometown real estate giant, Boston Properties. But as owner of the New York Daily News, he is also a media mogul. And, judging from recent reports, a media mogul with a big appetite.

  
  

• Sweet Land Deal For Fenway Developer?

  After decades of trying to gouge developers interested in building air-rights projects over the Turnpike in Boston, state officials are finally changing their tune.

  
  

• OK, Is Half The Boston Office Market Really On The Edge Of Foreclosure?

  Well, you have to hand it to the folks at CresaPartners. While most quarterly reports on the commercial real estate market are fairly tame, the ones Cresa churns are attention grabbers, to say the least. Check out this prediction by the downtown firm, which specializes in advising corporations on their real estate needs.

  
  

• After Long Decline, Commercial Prices Showing Signs Of Life

  Well that’s what a newly released MIT survey on the commercial market suggests. Commercial properties, from office buildings to strip malls, posted a 4 percent price increase in the third quarter, according to an index put out by the MIT Center for Real Estate.

  
  

• With Demise Of Plymouth Project, South Boston Studio Plan On The Rise

  I never really got the idea that sleepy Plymouth was going to be the East Coast’s answer to Hollywood.

  
  

• Buyers’ Market For Downtown Law Firm Space

  If you’re managing a law firm in downtown Boston, and you are looking for fancy new offices, now is your time. Of course, that is if you are not so busy trying to weather the economic storm that upgrading office space seems like a concern leftover from flush times.

  
  

• Enough Already With The Goofy Stimulus Spending

  OK, how about some common sense stimulus funding. I had modest hopes the federal government’s $787 billion stimulus package would at least provide a helpful nudge to our struggling economy. But my hope is turning to disgust as I read about where all the money is going – such as nearly $100,000 for a UMass study on ancient Icelandic pollen.

  
  

• Commercial Market Recovery To Start In Mid 2010, Report Finds

  I certainly hope brighter days are ahead in 2010 for our battered commercial real estate market. With downtown vacancy rates soaring, the Hancock tower sold at foreclosure, and the national jobless rate heading into the double digits, it has been quite a year.

  
  

• Commerical Real Estate Not Ready To Implode After All

  That’s what office market guru Sam Zell says. The Chicago billionaire made a fortune in the office market. He built a nationwide office tower empire with his Equity Office Properties Trust and then made a bundle selling it.

  
  

• Hub Towers Face Tax Hike

  Boston’s commercial tax rate is poised to jump again. And that could mean higher tax bills for some downtown office tower owners, even as they struggle through one of the worst recessions in years.

  
  

• Foxwoods Investor Shakes Up Bay State Casino Debate

  The now decades long debate over casino gambling in Massachusetts has had more than its share of twist and turns.

  
  

• Convention Center Expansion A Taste Of What’s To Come

  Despite its name, the state convention authority is more closely aligned with City Hall than you think.

  
  

• Beacon Hill Eyes A Break For Developers

  OK, don’t get your hopes up too much. The folks at the State House may be looking to give a break to the Bay State’s battered development industry, but we are definitely not talking about a tax break.

  
  

• Setting the stage for the next housing bubble?

  Maybe I am perverse to be worrying about the prospect of another housing price bubble right now.

  
  

• A Tough Office Market Gets Cutthroat

  A huge number of Boston area office towers and buildings are in some form of distress, with a number facing foreclosure, according to various surveys.

  
  

• Mayor Menino is unhappy - and can you blame him?

  Hub tower developer John Hynes has probably shouldered more than this share of the blame for the Filene’s fiasco.

  
  

• Beacon Hill Takes Aim At New Tower Proposals

  I love public parks as much as the next guy. But trying to ban all those nasty tower shadows from soiling the grounds of the new Greenway or Copley Square, well that seems a bit much.

  
  

• South Station deal went south long ago

  The collapse of the South Station development deal may have come as a shock to some. But this is one proposal that had been rotting quietly for quite some time.

  
  

• Hey, where did all the big development plans go?

  Another day, another grand development scheme bites the dust. I just finished chatting with Ted Tye, a top executive over at National Development, which bought the Boston Herald building a few years ago.

  
  

• Despite Downturn, Tech Firms On The Move

  OK, so the downtown Boston office market is still pretty depressed, though the rate of decline has slowed considerably, Jones Lang LaSalle reports in its latest market survey.

  
  

• Chinese Bankers To The Rescure

  Maybe there’s hope yet for Filene’s and some of the Boston’s other white elephant development projects stalled for lack of financing.

  
  

• Blockbuster Deal Could Prove Complicated For These Developers

  OK, if it ever gets built, the long-planned, 105 story skyscraper at ground zero of the World Trade Center site will certainly be a blockbuster. But after years of debate and inaction, the long-delayed Freedom Tower, now simply called 1 World Trade Center, is seen by many in the commercial real estate business as a white elephant.

  
  

• Southie Movie Studio Ready For Audition

  You can forget about the pie-in-the-sky plan to build a $500 million-plus movie making complex in Plymouth.

  
  

• Small Banks Look Out, Here Comes The Commercial Real Estate Avalanche

  A tidal wave of subprime home and condo mortgages gone bad came close to toppling some of our biggest banks in the days and weeks after September 2008. Now commercial real estate is increasingly looming large as the economy’s new problem child.

  
  

• Changes In Washington Could Kill Greater Boston’s Golden Goose -Research Funding

  Everyone may simply have their eye on the wrong ball. Clearly, the passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy has had a huge impact on the nation’s health care debate, though not exactly in the way the late senator would have envisioned.

  
  

• FBI’s Headquarters Quest Sparks Political Warfare

  As I noted recently in my Commercial Interests column for B&T, the FBI is looking seriously at building its long-planned regional headquarters over in South Boston. After several years checking out sites in Southie and in some of the suburbs and cities that ring the Hub, the FBI is focusing on a site controlled by the Pappas development family.

  
  

• More Reasons To Keep The Bay State’s Movie Industry Rolling

  Looks like I’m in good company in going to bat for our state’s promising but embattled film and TV industry. My B&T column Monday argued state officials are on the wrong track as they seek to slash in half a film industry tax credit that has brought a bevy of Hollywood productions into the state and pumped hundreds of millions into the local economy.

  
  

• Liberty Will Expand Here, But The Cost May Be More Than Advertised

  We all know that Liberty Mutual will get a pretty nice city tax break in exchange for expanding its long-time Boston headquarters. But here’s the other piece to that deal, and it makes it even sweeter – the tax increment financing agreement also entitles the insurer to millions more in state tax benefits.

  
  

• How Does The Boston Office Market Stack Up?

  Simply put, not well right now when compared to many other cities across the country. The Hub is emerging as a leader of sorts in the nation’s office market. But let’s just say the categories it is a standout are not so hot, according to data culled from the just released, Jones Lang LaSalle North American Occupiers Report.

  
  

• Boston’s Hardest Hit Neighborhoods Finally Hitting Bottom?

  Spring is around the corner. And with it are some hopeful signs the worst of the real estate downturn may be finally over for Hub neighborhoods that have borne the brunt of the bad times.

  
  

• Gambling Coming To Bay State - Without The Vegas Glitz

  House Speaker Robert DeLeo is finally showing his cards when it comes to legalizing expanded gambling in the Bay State.

  
  

• Development Industry’s Plight Seen In Beacon Hill Proposals

  In normal times, developers push hard to get local and state approvals as fast as possible. Time is money and delays in construction can prove costly.

  
  

• Mayor Menino Hits Grand Slam In Battle With New York Developer

  Sorry if I sound like a cheerleader today. Let’s just say that is somewhat out of character for me.But really, there is no other way of saying this. Hub Mayor Thomas M. Menino completely outfoxed one of the Big Apple’s (supposedly) shrewdest and most powerful developers.

  
  

• Better Read Between The Lines In Boston’s Latest Development Spat

  Sometimes news stories, no matter how well written and researched, just can’t get to the heart of the matter. And that’s too bad, because if you had a hint of the inside dynamics driving the story, you might just take a very different view.

  
  

• Downtown Boston Condo Market Springing Back To Life?

  Spring is finally here. And there is growing evidence we just may be starting to see a revival in the downtown luxury condo market.

  
  

• Better Read Between The Lines In Boston’s Latest Development Spat

  Sometimes news stories, no matter how well written and researched, just can’t get to the heart of the matter. And that’s too bad, because if you had a hint of the inside dynamics driving the story, you might just take a very different view.

  
  

• Boston’s Hypocritical Downtown Parking Freeze

  There’s something really wrong with the message sent by the Hub’s decades old downtown parking freeze.

  
  

• When It Comes To The Casino Debate, Better Read Between The Lines

  I have no idea whether House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s casino and racetrack slot bill will make it. After decades of debate over the issue, it looks like at least some of the stars are finally starting to align on Beacon Hill for gambling supporters.

  
  

• Banks Won’t Play Vultures’ Game

  A lot of big-name developers and investors are in trouble now after buying overpriced towers at the peak of the market. As I note in my B&T column this week, it’s an increasing elite group that now includes Hub real estate tycoon Alan Leventhal and his Beacon Capital Partners.

  
  

• Hang On! Even Tougher Days Ahead For The Battered Boston Office Market

  That’s CresaPartners’ prediction for the battered Boston office market.

  
  

• It's The Job Market, Stupid

  One thing that’s great about the commercial real estate industry, at least from the perspective of someone who has reported on it for years, is that it’s not rocket science.

  
  

• Making Mortgage Fraud A Crime In Mass. Takes Big Step Forward

  Wow, that was fast. My B&T column on Monday took aim at years of foot-dragging by the Legislature on a proposal that would make mortgage fraud a criminal offense in Massachusetts.

  
  

• Expect Jeers, Not Cheers, From Boston Hotels Over Convention Center Plan

  So Boston’s new convention center wants taxpayers to help foot the bill for a new, 1,000 room hotel. It’s pretty clear that if Boston’s already giant convention center is to nearly double in size, the city will need a lot more hotel rooms than it already has.

  
  

• Boston Properties On The Prowl?

  As they say, buy at the bottom and sell at the top. That’s the strategy our hometown real estate giant, Boston Properties, is pursuing as the hard-hit commercial office market skids along the bottom.

  
  

• No Bottom Yet For Falling Commercial Real Estate Prices

  Office tower prices continue to sink. Heck, they are even managing to make home prices look like a rock of stability in a still shaky economy.

  
  

• Commercial Rebound On Hold Until 2011

  It looks like 2010 will not be the year of the commercial real estate comeback.

  
  

• Better Times Ahead For Builders?

  The battered construction industry may finally be moving closer to recovery, and not a moment too soon.

  
  

• Is There A Double Standard When It Comes To Coverage Of The Krafts’ Business Dealings?

  It’s pretty clear that Robert Kraft has gotten a raw deal in the media smack down of his bid to get federal stimulus funds for a pedestrian bridge over Rt. 1.

  
  

• Casino Bill Could Trigger Land Scramble In Bay State

  Own some commercial land and trying hard to drum up some interest in a down economy? Take heart – you may just get a chance to hit the jackpot.

  
  

• Beacon Capital’s Seattle Tower Troubles Spill Over Nationally

  The number of troubled commercial real estate loans is headed up again. Unfortunately, Boston-based Beacon Capital is playing a big part in the latest increase.

  
  

• Hundreds Of Residential, Office Projects Across Massachusetts Face Uncertain Future

  The Great Recession slammed builders across the Bay State, forcing them to put an array of projects on hold, from new subdivisions to office parks.

  
  

• Get Ready For The Next Real Estate Craze - Apartments

  Forget about that old image of the lone developer out there on the frontier, pushing the envelope. Instead, most builders would much rather follow the pack and let a few impatient pioneers wind up with all the arrows.

  
  

• Sure, Vornado Is Selling Its stake In Filene’s, But Who’s Buying?

  The pressure is mounting on Hub tower developer John Hynes to get work started again on the long-stalled Filene’s project.

  
  

• The Real Scoop On Casino Gambling Here In The Bay State

  Forget about silly talk of Steve Wynn scoping the South Boston waterfront for a casino.

  
  

• Lawmakers Scramble To Save Casino Bill

  The odds still look long right now as the end of the legislative session looms on July 31st. But with hundreds of millions in potential revenue at stake, Beacon Hill is mounting a last-ditch effort to pass a gambling bill.

  
  

• Here Come The Foreign Investors Again

  Back in the 1980s it was the oil-rich Saudis and Japanese that went on an office tower buying spree, both in the Hub and in other major metro markets.

  
  

• Office Market Still Bleeding Away

  Massachusetts may be adding jobs, but the battered office market is not out of the woods yet. Just take a look at what is happening out on the I-495 office and innovation belt. The amount of vacant office space has hit 32 percent along the 495 West corridor – the highest since the start of the Great Recession, CresaPartners reports.

  
  

• Vacationland For Presidents, Martha’s Vineyard May Soon Get A Casino Too

  After years of watching casino plans get shot down at the State House, the The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe is throwing down the gauntlet.

  
  

• College Construction On The Rebound?

  Northeastern University’s announcement this morning that it will be moving forward with a big new dorm complex may be a sign that better days are ahead for Boston’s battered construction market.

  
  

• Will Mohegan Sun Still Make The Party If The Bay State Greenlights Gambling?

  The Connecticut giant was once seen as a shoe in for a casino license if and when the Bay State legalizes expanded gambling.

  
  

• The Office Casino?

  It looks like March Madness has gotten out of hand.

  
  

• As Filene's Project Languishes, Vornado Goes On A Big Apple Spending Spree

  I wonder if Mayor Thomas M. Menino is reading the business press headlines down in the Big Apple.

  
  

• Can Massachusetts Become A Leader In Smoke-Free Gambling?

  Casinos across the country have fought tooth and nail against smoking bans.

  
  

• Casino Circus Returns To Beacon Hill

  It is spring again – must be time for the annual casino gambling debate at the Massachusetts State House.

  
  

• Get Ready, Here Comes The Bank Of Massachusetts

  Small businesses continue to struggle to nail down loans from lenders to do everything from restock shelves to embark on long-planned expansions.

  
  

• Out On 495 West, Downsizing Like Its 2008

  As we hurtle towards mid-year, the office market across Greater Boston is kicking into recovery mode.

  
  

• Has Mall Construction Finally Peaked?

  At least for now it has, suggests a new survey by the International Council of Shopping Centers.

  
  

• Finally, Beacon Hill Appears Ready To Roll The Dice

  That's the word on Beacon Hill.

  
  

• Amid Development Gold Rush Around Fenway, The Sox Have Gone Missing

  So have the Sox struck out in their long-standing efforts to reshape the once gritty neighborhood around Fenway Park to the fabled franchise’s liking? Or has the team’s vision suddenly changed?

  
  

• Goodbye Braintree Castle - And Good Riddance

  I am sure I am offending someone out there, but really, how can I be alone on this?

  
  

• How The Fed Headed Off Another Depression - With $1.2 Trillion In “Emergency” Loans

  Remember the heat the Obama Administration took for its $160 billion bank bailout bill?

  
  

• Vornado’s Other Big Boston Gamble

  No, I am not talking about the half-demolished Filene’s project. Rather, Vornado is poised to score big across town over at Suffolk Downs, where it is a key investor behind plans to convert the old racetrack into a gambling and entertainment palace.

  
  

• Can High-Tech Hiring Save The Bay State Economy?

  Let’s hope so – for it’s the only sector that’s on fire right now. The high-tech industry growth rate is four times faster than the national average, according to a new report by Jones Lang LaSalle.

  
  

• Could Casino Gambling Revive The Construction Market?

  We all know how hard hit the construction market here is in the Bay State. The end of the Big Dig and the Great Recession has sent jobless rates soaring in the industry.

  
  

• Will Long-Planned Towers Ever Bloom Around The Garden?

  The Bruins under owner Jeremy Jacobs finally broke a nearly three-decade long Stanley Cup drought last season. But it’s not clear when Jacobs and his Delaware North Cos., which owns the Bruins and the Garden, will break a now decade-and-a-half long development drought in front of the Garden itself.

  
  

• What’s Hot? Try Tourism, Marketing and Manufacturing

  The Fed just released its latest Beige Book on the state of the Greater Boston economy. It makes for a pretty interesting read. Right now tourism, consulting and manufacturing (as in high-tech stuff, not widgets) are what’s hot.

  
  

• Surprise, Surprise – Another Round Of “Improvements’’ To Fenway Park Up Ahead

  I thought the era of Fenway Park improvements ended last year when ballpark restoration guru Janet Marie Smith was sent packing back to Baltimore.

  
  

• For Eyesores Like Filene's, There's Hope Yet

  I spent years driving by the decrepit Grossman’s site off Rt. 16 near the Wellesley/Newton line.

  
  

• A Little Tough Love Needed For Ailing Residential Market?

  Mortimer Zuckerman, chairman of Boston Properties, oversees a nationwide office tower empire when he’s not busy with his double life as a media tycoon. (He owns the New York Daily News and is editorial director of U.S. News & World Report.)

  
  

• As It Chases Another Blockbuster Hancock Deal, Beacon Capital Gets A Boost

  Beacon’s pockets just got a lot deeper.

  
  

• A Tale Of Two Boston Real Estate Sectors

  Which downtown real estate sector is hurting the most? Well take your pick, but let’s just say having built too little looks better than having built too much when the chips are down.

  
  

• Things Finally Looking Up For Hub Developers?

  Hold the champagne. But after a brutal two years, it appears some local developers are at least starting to crawl out of their bunkers and dust off plans they had put on hold.

  
  

• The Pru Next Up To Get The Last Laugh In Tommy’s Town?

  For a developer firmly on Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s naughty list, Vornado is managing to do OK.