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Rachael Diharce
Vice president of leasing, Samuels & Assoc.
Age: 40
Industry experience: 13 years
Massachusetts Turnpike motorists have a new guidepost signaling the entrance to downtown Boston in Samuels & Assoc.’s new Lyrik development, which is nearing completion at the corner of Newbury Street and Massachusetts Avenue. In March, the Boston-based developer announced its first group of tenants occupying the 35,000-square-foot retail podium at Lyrik, Boston’s first air rights project in over four decades. The development includes an office tower leased to Lego Group and CarGurus for their new corporate headquarters and a citizenM hotel. The developer has leased space to the first New England showroom of EV manufacturer Rivian and a mix of tea and coffee shops, restaurants and cafes at the high-visibility location. Rachael Diharce grew up in Minnesota attending groundbreaking ceremonies with her father, a city manager, prompting her to pursue a career in real estate after college including roles in leasing and marketing for The Hamilton Co. and WS Development before joining Samuels & Assoc. in 2022.
Q: How did you approach the leasing strategy for Lyrik Back Bay?
A: Our primary leasing strategy was definitely finding a nice balance between the best of local Boston tenants and being able to bring in new brands to the city. It’s ot often you get this kind of retail gross leasable area in the Back Bay which is so dense already, so we felt it was a great opportunity. We have four retail spaces left to lease at Lyrik. One of the largest is just under 5,800 square feet with incredible visibility to the thousands of cars passing underneath on the Mass Pike.
Q: For people not familiar with Rivian, what are their dealerships like?
A: I’ve been to their headquarters in California, which was their first permanent retail store, and I’ve been to their University Village location in Seattle. It felt nothing like your traditional showroom experience: very lush with greenery, fun promotional products. It’s a community space: people set up on their laptops. They meet you with an iPad, and it’s very low-pressure. We’re seeing a lot of the electric car companies breaking the mold.
Q: How will Lyrik affect the larger retail environment on the western end of Newbury Street?
A: What’s unique is we built something where there was nothing before. Traditionally, you would get to the last blocks on Newbury and if you were driving, it was a race over Mass Ave. to jump on the Pike. What this project really does is create a way for you to get to the end of Mass Ave. and cross over for this whole experience that didn’t exist before.
The public plaza areas of this development are a favorite element. We didn’t bring retail right up against Mass Ave. We have this plaza with seating and that says, “Come visit and spend time here.” Several of the retailers have designated outdoor space, and several have operable windows. You’re going to have an indoor-outdoor selection. We want retailers to pour out into the plaza. And you’ll have a podium halfway up the stairs, with a glass elevator to the second floor. If you go up a few more stairs, you’re on the final platform with the corridor that allows you to look out over the Mass Pike.
Q: What was the origin of the Lyrik branding?
A: We definitely wanted something unique that was memorable and would stick with people, and the name was inspired by the electric rhythm of the neighborhood. Obviously, you’ve got Berklee College of Music just kitty-corner to the property, the MGM Music Hall and the Boston Conservancy, so that’s certainly where Lyrik came from. We believe that Lyrik has created this connection between the Back Bay and the Fenway.
Q: What’s the biggest change in retail real estate that you’ve seen during your career?
A: Definitely, the push from entertainment and “eatertainment” in lifestyle centers and all kinds of retail development. They are the new anchors for developments, so it’s interesting to see what new concepts keep coming out in both an urban environment and a suburban environment.
Q: Is there any impetus for new retail developments as opposed to mixed-use projects?
A: The complete stand-alone lifestyle center will get harder and harder to work, if you don’t go vertical. The question for so many opportunities is: How do we go vertical with it to make sense and make the numbers work? You see that happening in the redevelopment of so many class B and C malls now. It’s great. Let’s take the old Sears box down, and how many floors of multifamily can we add to it? It just makes sense to how a site works. Tuscan Village in Salem, New Hampshire is an absolutely perfect example of a successful project with office, hotel, ground-floor retail and residential.
Q: What drew you to a real estate career?
A: I think I’m the only person who doesn’t come from a real estate family. My dad was a city manager and I got to see the ribbon-cuttings in Saint Louis Park. We didn’t have a true downtown; we had strip centers. I remember coming to the first major new development: it had multifamily, ground-floor retail, and [I was] watching how the community came pouring out to see it. It was one of those “a-ha” moments to me: This is how you evolve a community.
The Five Leadership Books Most Influential on Diharce’s Career:
- “Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg
- “Unapologetically Ambitious” by Shellye Archambeau
- “Own It” by Sallie Krawcheck
- The “Emotional Intelligence” series from Harvard Business Review
- “Getting to Yes” by Roger Fischer and William Ury
