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Good news and bad news

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Good news and bad news

Are you looking to launch, move, or expand your company in greater Boston's inner suburbs? If so, there’s good news.

It’s not as rosy if you own or manage office space here.

Boston’s suburban office market has been relatively steady since the start of the pandemic. But as more companies consolidate or review long-term plans, there’s been an increase in sublease availability and vacant space, reports Taylor Dovin at Bisnow.

R.W. Holmes 2024 Q1 Office and Industrial Market Report, released yesterday, tracks some price drops too, although the commercial real estate firm isn’t seeing any fire sales yet.

“The limited activity has led to many landlords proactively marketing their space at discounted rates to get tenants out in the market rather than renewing in place,” the report states.

The best deals, according to Holmes, apply to Class B properties. But some Class A properties are lowering rents too. Discounts are generally only possible for tenants with limited buildout since construction costs remain high.

But Holmes added this sobering observation about the Wellesley market:

“The Wellesley office market continues to be poised for major disruption and market movement. As fewer companies have employees and/or clients visiting their offices in person, the need to have the ‘Wellesley address’ has diminished for some clients. We have seen a growing number of companies located in Wellesley open to exploring neighboring towns.”

Wellesley continues to be most active with medical or quasi-medical tenants.

An alternative to Needham’s proposed water bottle ban 

Needham’s Select Board voted 4-1 this week to endorse a May Town Meeting warrant item that would ban the sale and distribution of some single-use plastics – including polystyrene, plastic stirrers, plastic splash guards and plastic water bottles -- and also require plastic straws only be available upon request.

The chamber supports restricting all of those items: Except water bottles.

That’s not because we don’t recognize the harmful impact plastic bottles have on our environment. We do. We live here too.

But banning this high-margin item will have a significant financial impact on Needham’s small independent fast casual restaurants and retailers, resulting in the potential loss of many thousands of dollars per business.

We shouldn't be looking to solve this problem at the point of sale when the problem originates with large corporations – bottlers and manufacturers -- at the beginning of the supply chain.

For example: Canned water is regularly touted as a great alternative to bottles. And it is. Except canned water costs restaurants 3 to 5 times as much as plastic.

And while restaurants can buy plastic bottles by the case, many of their distributors only sell cans by the pallet which is, wait for it, 75 cases!

Few businesses have storage space for 75 cases of canned water.

Last year, I testified on Beacon Hill in support of adding water and other noncarbonated beverages to Sen. Cindy Creem's bottle deposit bill and we favor state-wide solutions that don’t unfairly impact businesses in select municipalities.

This week, the chamber asked our friends at Green Needham, the organization behind this citizens’ petition, to consider making the water bottle ban voluntary (just as it did for many years with plastic bags) until supply chain conditions improve.

We’ve also proposed substituting bottles with a mandatory "Skip the Stuff" program (similar to one just adopted in Newton), which both eliminates plastic waste and benefits our businesses. A win-win as we see it.

We’re looking forward to Green Needham’s response.

Also in Needham 


  • At this week’s Needham Select Board meeting: Kevin Keane was elected to serve as chair, Heidi Frail as vice chair and Cathy Dowd as clerk.

  • Several downtown merchants will hold a sidewalk sale in Needham Center next Saturday (April 27) in conjunction with the Charles River YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day and the start of the Y’s spring soccer program.

Your business may be eligible for a Visa/Mastercard settlement

"Millions of business owners have only a few weeks left to snag their share of a $5.5 billion credit-card settlement," writes Andy Medici for the BBJ.

U.S. merchants that accepted Visa and/or Mastercard credit or debit cards between Jan. 1, 2004, and Jan. 25, 2019 (that did not previously opt out of the settlement) may be eligible. The deadline to file a claim is May 31.

This settlement is separate from another high-profile settlement agreement announced — but not finalized — earlier this year.

Friday grab bag 

  • The ghost kitchen trend that boomed during the pandemic appears to have been scared off. (New York Times)

  • As more life science conversions and new developments were completed without tenants, Greater Boston’s lab vacancy rate rose to nearly 14% in the first quarter. (Banker & Tradesman)

  • The Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Partnership hosts “Following in her Footsteps” at Brookline’s Coolidge Corner Theatre, April 30 at 6 p.m. Gov. Maura Healey will present an award to former Lt. Gov. Evelyn Murphy and Eastern Bank CEO Bob Rivers will honor DE&I pioneer Collette Phillips of Get Konnected! Tickets.



  • The FDA has placed a clinical hold on the early-stage trial of Watertown-based biotech Neumora Therapeutics Inc.’s schizophrenia drug. (BBJ)



  • If you appreciate our advocacy and events, we’d appreciate it if you’d take two minutes to post a Google Review for the Charles River Chamber here. Thanks!

Two-way commuter rail service inches closer in Newtonville 

Due to the inadequate design of Newton’s three commuter rail stations, the MBTA is only able to serve riders going in one direction at a time.

That’s fine for commuters heading inbound to jobs downtown in the morning and home in the afternoon.

But it doesn’t help Newton or Watertown employers look to lure workers from Boston or other points east to jobs here, or anyone in Newton looking to get to jobs in Wellesley, Framingham, or points west.


Finally, after two decades of lobbying, that limitation would be eliminated -- at least at the Newtonville stop -- under an MBTA proposed design unveiled last week.

The plan would enhance accessibility and serve riders in both directions by placing the station platform between the tracks, reports Lucia Dolan for Fig City News.

Ultimately the T hopes to make similar enhancements at the West Newton and Auburndale stations. However, due to limited funding, the T selected Newtonville because it has the highest ridership and the greatest potential for housing development.

The T’s design is still conceptual and no timeline was presented, while multiple local concerns were raised during an April 10 presentation. Dolan adds.

Here’s the recording and project web page.

We’ll ask MassDOT Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt about the project when she joins us at a chamber event May 14 at 9:30 a.m. in Watertown. RSVP.  

Note to our nonprofits 

Chamber member nonprofit 501c(3) organizations are invited to apply to be the nonprofit beneficiary of our 2024 Charles River Chamber Golf Tournament.

To qualify the nonprofit needs to support children/families in at least part of our footprint (Newton, Needham, Watertown, Wellesley) as at least part of its mission.

Our golf committee selects a different recipient each year. Our nonprofit partner will receive a portion of the tournament proceeds, marketing exposure from event promotion and an opportunity to be on course, Aug. 5 at Woodland Golf Club.

Application Deadline: April 30. Apply

Your favorite chamber keeps growing and growing

Finally today, please join us in welcoming our newest (or returning after a long absence) chamber members from February and March.

Priceless Packs
Stephen Frail

Can't find your company on the list above? Or here? Get in on the action here. 

That’s what you need to know for today -- National Chicken Parm Day  -- unless you need to know the best argument for painting your bedroom pink.

Our office is closed this morning so we can participate in the 25th Annual Charles River Cleanup.

Enjoy weekend. Go Bruins. Go Celtics.
 
Greg Reibman (he, him)
President & CEO
617.244.1688

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