Recent News
May 2013
Springfield Mayor and MGM Launch Casino Campaign
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and executives from MGM Resorts International will launch a “Yes for Springfield” casino campaign May 222nd. The campaign is aimed at promoting “yes” votes in the July 16th citywide referendum on MGM’s proposed $800 million casino, which would straddle portions of the Metro Center and South End neighborhoods. Voters must approve the proposal before Springfield can be considered for the one Western MA casino license. Mohegan Sun is pushing a casino project in Palmer and Hard Rock International is planning a gaming facility at the Big E in W Springfield.
Partners HealthCare To Build In Marlborough
Boston-based Partners HealthCare is expanding west, with the purchase of 22.5 acres of land in Marlborough, where it intends to build a data center. According to Partners, a $49 million, 65,000 square foot building will primarily house equipment and will have about 15 employees. Construction is slated to begin next week and be completed in November 2014. According to the Registry of Deeds, Partners purchased the vacant land at 555 Forest St. for $4.5 million on April 30 from real estate development firm The Gutierrez Co. of Burlington. The Partners system mostly has a presence in the metro Boston area and includes Brigham and Women's and Massachusetts General hospitals, both in Boston.
Fenway Center Deal In Sight
Gov Patrick made a deal for the $500 million Fenway Center mega-development. If approved, as expected, by a state board, construction could begin by the end of 2013. The Patrick Administration worked out a tentative lease deal with developer John Rosenthal for the 4.5 acre state owned site. The plan is for five buildings with 550 apartments, stores, restaurants, parking garages and an office-residential-retail complex. It will also be the first major air rights project over the Mass Pike since Copley Place in the ‘80’s.
Boston Conservatory Breaks Ground in Fenway
The Boston Conservatory, a performing arts school, will break ground on a $20 million facility that includes an orchestra rehearsal hall, dance studios and educational space next week. The facility is located across from Fenway Park and 1,000 feet from the main building at #8 Fenway at 132 Ipswich St. Mass Development issued a $24.5 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of the school to purchase and develop the property.
Smartphone Use By Contractors Jumps
Contractors use of smartphones while on the jobsite jumped 35% from last year. While the use of tablets rose nearly 54% over last year, most contractors said they use smartphones as part of their workday. Of those surveyed, 56% think smartphones are the fastest growing technology device in the building and construction industry, followed in second place by tablets.
First Republic Bank, MassDevelopment Support Deerfield Academy Arts Expansion
MassDevelopment has issued a $15 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of the Trustees of Deerfield Academy and First Republic Bank purchased the bond. Deerfield Academy will use the money to build two additions to the Center for the Arts building. The additions will total 15,000 square feet and will house an art gallery, class space, a chamber hall and other support space. The academy will also renovate the 63,000-square-foot center with new art studios, a dance studio and music practice rooms.
WPI Dedicates Newest Gateway Park Building
Worcester Polytechnic Institute dedicated the newest Gateway Park building, a $32 million, four-story academic building that also houses private-sector functions. New England MCA member NB Kenney performed the mechanical construction. The top two stories of the 92,000 sqft building will house 200 employees from Siemens Technologies. The bottom two floors house the WPI Biomanufacturing Education and Training Center, an expanded Fire Protection Engineering research and burn laboratory and the graduate division of WPI’s School of Business.
Harvard Gets Approval for Allston
Harvard University won approval for a $150 million mixed use project in Allston at Barry’s Corner. The 350,000 sqft development will include 325 apartments, 45,000 sqft of retail space and 221 parking spaces. 60% of the units will be studios and one-bedrooms and 40% will be two and three-bedrooms. The parcel is adjacent to Harvard Business School.
Millennium Tower Back on Track
Construction will soon begin on the $630 million Millennium Tower / Burnham Building complex in Downtown Crossing. The project is being developed by Millennium Partners. Arnold Worldwide and Havas Media have agreed to lease 125,000 sqft and become the anchor tenant. They have a move in date of September 2014.
Commercial Building Automation Boom
After years of steady growth, the commercial building automation systems (BAS) market is experiencing rapid growth. Over the next five years BAS investment will grow to $43 billion, up from $35 billion this year. The appeal of reducing energy consumption and the benefits of optimizing building automation systems are two key factors in driving growth. Another factor, a new level of connectivity that stretches the reach of building automation systems from new sensors and actuators through to cloud application management and data analysis. Within the BAS market, software and services will see the greatest revenue growth while hardware will lag as the pricing of actuators and switches fall.
