The Democratic National Convention will be held at the FleetCenter in Boston during the week of July 26, forcing many area real estate practitioners and owners to revamp their schedules.
Like other businesses in and around Boston, apartment building owners, property managers and others in the real estate industry are bracing themselves for the hassles and inconveniences sure to come next week when thousands descend on the city for the Democratic National Convention.
After hearing reports of road closures and altered public transportation routes scheduled to take place during the four days of the convention, some Boston-area real estate companies and apartment building managers immediately started preparing employees and making arrangements so that day-to-day business goes as smoothly as possible.
Several apartment building managers and owners have set up and reserved furnished apartments or hotel rooms for employees so they won’t have to deal with the highway shutdowns and traffic congestion during the convention, which takes place at the FleetCenter July 26 to July 29.
Equity Residential has reserved at least 10 apartments in its properties for employees who must travel from north of Boston to work at the Charles River Park apartments, which is a short walk to the Fleet Center, as well as for employees who live south of the city and must travel north to Equity’s other apartment complexes.
“We suspect there will be little business transaction, especially in downtown during that week, but we need our staff to be there for out existing tenants,” said Chris Reilly, area vice president of Equity Residential.
In an effort to better prepare property owners and managers, the Building Owners and Managers Association of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board organized a DNC briefing last Thursday to address members’ security and traffic concerns. Participants got a rundown of all the parking and road closures and restrictions as well as information on the alternative commuter rail and MBTA subway and bus routes and schedules.
A six-mile stretch of Interstate 93 will be closed in the late afternoon and evening during the convention and public transportation routes will be significantly altered. The transportation hub at North Station will be closed, with commuter rail service to and from the station ceasing starting on the evening of July 23.
Property owners like Equity Residential have spent several weeks preparing staff and employees and reviewing emergency contingency plans. According to Equity’s Reilly, some employees have opted to take vacation that week while some of Equity’s corporate staff is working out of satellite offices or from home.
In addition, the company originally was scheduled to move its corporate headquarters from Norwood to Charles River Park in Boston during the end of the convention week but bumped the transition up a by a week. The company should be in its new offices this week ahead of the convention confusion.
Protests and Targets
Real estate agents and attorneys have also been preparing to make convention week as hassle-free as possible. Some have worked with Boston-area clients to either delay or move up closing dates for real estate transactions.
Last week, real estate broker Bob Imperato said he was trying to reschedule a closing that was to take place the week of the convention at the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds, which is located on New Chardon Street in Boston just blocks away from the convention site. Imperato, president of Boston Realty Assoc., said the Brighton home seller’s real estate broker requested that the date be pushed up in order to avoid having to be at the registry at that time.
“They just don’t want to be anywhere near the convention center,” he said.
In fact, convention planners are advising Boston residents near the convention site to avoid moving during the last days of the month. Material distributed at BOMA’s DNC briefing last week, for example, noted that the Boston Police Department “strongly suggested that no residents in the DNC area plan to move in or out of” homes between July 23 and July 30.
At the briefing, officials from the Boston FBI office also presented a video and overview on anticipated public demonstrations and protests, and the possibility of vandalism and property damage. As of last week, 67 permits had been issued by the city for demonstrations or protests.
Planners are anticipating that demonstrations will be heavy around Copley Square, the Boston Common, the State House, City Hall Plaza and streets near the convention center. When a participant at the GBREB briefing asked whether the Financial District would be affected by demonstrators, Greg Comcowich, an agent with the Boston FBI, said the Financial District is “clearly a target” of some protesters, particularly some of the anti-capitalist anarchist groups.
‘Resourceful’ Response
FBI officials advised owners of buildings with parking garages in the city to beef up security and be on the lookout for protesters who might use the garages to camp out overnight.
Meanwhile, some people are vowing to stay way from Boston when the delegates, lobbyists, politicians and press are in town. Imperato said agents at his company will try to avoid the North End and parts of Beacon Hill and the Back Bay, all areas that will be affected by convention-related traffic.
Imperato has also warned customers about the impending traffic congestion. Recently, a homeowner in the Charles River Park area called Imperato and said she was thinking of putting her condominium up for sale during the end of the month, and he suggested that she wait until after the convention because it’s going to be difficult for real estate brokers and prospective buyers to get to the property to see it.
He also convinced a homebuyer relocating from Minneapolis who was considering visiting Boston at the end of July to see properties on Beacon Hill and the North End to come last weekend instead.
Real estate attorneys in Greater Boston also have been rearranging schedules and real estate closings whenever possible. “I believe real estate attorneys have taken into account the potential impact of the Democratic National Convention on conveyancing in Greater Boston,” said E. Christopher Kehoe, an attorney with Robinson & Cole in Boston and president of the Real Estate Bar Association for Massachusetts.
Kehoe said he is planning to conduct closings very early in the morning, either at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m., during convention week. He said often real estate attorneys can’t reschedule closings because “buyers and sellers have contractual obligations that were committed to months ago.”
And since multiple home sale and purchase transactions are often linked together, it can be tough to delay a closing. For example, a home seller may be relying on the proceeds from the sale of a property to purchase another home. While the seller may get the homebuyer to agree to a faster or later closing date, the seller might not be able to convince the owner of the home he or she is trying to buy to do the same.
Still, Kehoe said he is confident that real estate attorneys will do their best to make the process easier for clients. “I think that real estate lawyers are about the most accommodating people that you will run into and we go out of our way to accomplish our goals and help people,” Kehoe said.
After hearing reports that court trials would be canceled during the DNC, some real estate attorneys were initially concerned that the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds, which is located in the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse, would be closed. Courthouses will remain open, but trials won’t be conducted in Cambridge and Suffolk County courts.
The registry will remain open, according to the secretary of state’s office, which oversees the registry office, but both the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds in Boston and Middlesex Southern District Registry of Deeds in Cambridge will open and close two hours earlier (see sidebar for more registry information).
At Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, which has eight offices in Boston, as well as offices in Cambridge, Somerville, Arlington, Belmont and Brookline, agents and mangers have been working with clients, real estate attorneys, co-brokers and vendors to make sure everything goes smoothly during the four convention days. All of the company’s Boston offices will be open during the convention, and real estate agents will continue to make appointments, said Robert Shortsleeve, regional vice president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Central New England.
Employees in Coldwell Banker’s corporate offices in Waltham will have the option of starting work as early as 6 a.m. in order avoid traffic snares, or work much later in the day.
“Our concerns are the same as every other business,” said Shortsleeve, who noted that the company had done enough planning to prepare in case there are traffic or delivery disruptions.
Last week, Coldwell Banker had arranged for videographers to shoot movies of Boston-areas residences listed for sale that are featured on the company’s Web site, in order to avoid having the videographers drive to and through the city during the convention.
In addition, Shortsleeve said the company has made arrangements with its courier service so that pickups and deliveries don’t conflict with road and highway closures.
In an interview with Banker & Tradesman last week, Shortsleeve expressed optimism that real estate agents would be able to handle the distractions and inconveniences during the convention. “Real estate agents are very resourceful,” he said. “They know how to deal with this.”
Shortsleeve also suggested that the convention could be a potential source of new business, as out-of-state delegates and visitors pass by Coldwell Banker offices and catch glimpses of posted home listings.
Echoing a theme and message that city officials have been sharing with residents and business owners during the last several weeks, Shortsleeve said, “We’ll work around it.”
