Commercial Interests
A Banker & Tradesman Blog
Is Bulfinch’s Natick Mall Lab Plan Dead or Alive?
When it comes to real estate projects, no news is not good news. Rather, it’s an almost universal sign of bad news.
A Modest Proposal for a Truce on Real Estate’s Carbon Emissions
Why not let posh suburbs like Wellesley and Lincoln pass all the green mandates and regulations they can dream up? But there’d be a catch: Get serious about helping Greater Boston fix its housing affordability crisis.
What Glitters Hasn’t Turned Out to Be Gold in Springfield
MGM’s casino is employing only half the workers it promised, and concerns about crime and complaints about amenities that have stayed shuttered post-pandemic raise questions about its future.
Can City Afford to Foot Office Conversion Bills?
Not long ago, Boston’s traditional center of business and commerce appeared poised for a glorious new future as the city’s newest residential neighborhood. But even if the city chips in money for conversions, a big transformation could prove costly.
Slowdown Ahead for Downtown Condos?
Half full or half empty? That’s one question to be asked as an assortment of new condo towers compete for buyers and pushes to keep the sales momentum going.
Comrade, Don’t Forget Who Pays You
It would be hard to say that Cambridge isn’t doing its level best to back up its beliefs in social justice with cold, hard cash.
Luxury Condo Sales Off to Slow Start
No real estate market is bulletproof. And the condominium market in downtown Boston, dominated as it is by multimillion-dollar luxury sales, is no exception.
Healey Has No Time to Waste on Housing Secretary
Unless you think the law of supply and demand doesn’t have any bearing on the housing market, you know the sudden halt in new construction will make our shortage of homes even worse, driving prices even higher.
Beat-Up Banks Leave Real Estate Waiting
Last week’s bank earnings reports confirm: It’s going to be a long wait before projects will be able to find ready financing again.
Wu Is Whistling Past the Office Tower Graveyard
With all due respect, one wonders whether the mayor’s CFO is living in the same world as the rest of us in day-to-day contact with the business of real estate and development.
Marathon Town Home Prices Take Home the Gold
The Boston Marathon’s route, which stretches from the outer suburbs to downtown Boston, isn’t paved in gold – at least not yet. But some communities along the 26.2-mile course have seen home prices explode.
A Home-Price Disaster in Sudbury
Now here’s a real crisis we can all get up in arms about: The U.S. has lost 58 “million-dollar” cities over the past eight months, per Zillow, including our own Sudbury. But is the latest report all it’s cracked up to be?
For the T, Honest Talk as Important as Repair Work
If the MBTA is ever to win a modicum of respect and understanding from the public, it needs to shift its approach to communications from trying to gloss over or outright hide bad news, to speaking honestly about the challenges it faces.
Quit Your Whining About the MBTA
I don’t know about you. But I am fed up – and I mean fed up! – with all the negativity in the local media about the world’s greatest transportation system.
Is This Another Crash in the Making?
It’s getting harder to write off two recent bank failures as outliers. But it’s unclear if that means it’s 2008 all over again or events are rhyming with a different financial crisis.
Accusations Sow Doubt About Return-to-Office Data
Two of the region’s largest owners of office buildings and towers have a bone to pick with Kastle, the company which tracks office building occupancy, saying it’s reporting overly pessimistic data.
Full Floors of Fun at Boston Towers
Hundreds of millions of dollars of renovation and repositioning projects planned downtown could leave Boston’s best office towers stronger than ever despite office market upheaval.
What Do North End Restaurants and Development Fees Have in Common?
What does Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s decision to ban outdoor dining in the North End have to do with her increasingly controversial real estate policies? More than you might think.
Permits Paint Picture of Slowing, but Strong Lab Sector
New lab buildings are shouldering most of the load keeping Boston’s tax base growing, and city data shows the construction boom is still rolling. But not everything is OK.
Wellesley’s Doing Alright
Amid the return of uncertain economic times, and a potential recession just around a corner or two, the housing market in Boston’s toniest suburbs appears to be bouncing back just fine from last year’s turmoil.
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