Good morning,

Hope you’re having a great summer — a time when most of us plot ways to disappear from the office and take a break from email, Zoom and even reading your favorite chamber of commerce newsletter.

And yet, it seems the debate over remote and hybrid work never takes a vacation.

In fact, there’s been a wave of recent research exploring the unintended consequences of remote work, including an analysis that’s particularly unflattering to CEOs.

• In the journal Science, a pair of labor economists conclude that remote work substantially increases isolation and worsens mental health, particularly for those living alone.  
  
  
• A New York Federal Reserve analysis suggests remote work — not artificial intelligence — may account for 64% of the recent increase in unemployment among young college graduates.
  
  
• Then there’s research out of the Wharton School which concludes that “ordering people back to the office full time is … a signature strategy of leaders who exhibit narcissistic qualities. They see any kind of remote work as a threat to their authority and admiration. They want to be worshiped at the office altar.”

Yikes!

• Then again, the New York Times’ Claire Cain Miller explores how remote work has helped a generation of working parents.
  
  
• And for those in the office, a different NY Times columnist has some advice that’s going to make your HR director squirm.
  
  
• Finally, there’s Brian Elliott writing in Time magazine, casting doubt on several of those recent studies, including the whole CEO-narcissist thing.

What about you and your team? Has your remote policy evolved?  Are you considering changes?

It would be great to hear from you.  No rush if you’re reading this on your phone at the beach.

New commercial projects eye Newton-Needham corridor

At a time when new commercial development is increasingly rare, two projects along the Needham Street/Highland Ave corridor are seeking approval — one in Needham and one in Newton.

The former Acapulcos Mexican restaurant at 1 First Ave. in Needham has been an eyesore since closing in 2019.  Prior to that, the site was a Howard Johnson’s, followed by a Ground Round.

Now, owner Fox & Hound Properties is proposing a one-story, 9,000 SF commercial building with four storefronts (rendering above), preliminarily envisioned for a retailer, bakery, café and bank.

Meanwhile, Newton Design Center LLC has filed plans to replace the Needham Street Cleaners building at 74 Needham St. with a new four-story commercial building.

The project will require a special permit from the Newton City Council, including approval to waive 47 parking spaces.

Tuesday grab bag

• Heads up: Tickets are running low for Charles River Regional Chamber’s annual Summer Celebration next Thursday (July 23) at Commodore Builders.
  
  
• Pathway for Immigrant Workers is providing free consultations to employers who want to discuss next steps regarding changes to employees' TPS status.
  
  
• The United Way of Mass Bay and the Healey-Driscoll Administration have launched a fund to support an estimated 45,000 Haitians in Massachusetts who are expected to be affected by the TPS ruling.
  
  
• It’s time once again for the annual St. Mary of Carmen Society’s Italian-American Festival, tomorrow (Wednesday) through Sunday in Nonantum. See you there.
  
  
• The Globe’s Jon Chesto explores how a new zoning reform aimed at making it easier to approve some multi-family housing was snuck into the state budget
  
  
• Thai Amarin in Newton Corner is no longer in operation. That’s not to be confused with Amarin of Thailand, which moved from Wellesley to Newtonville earlier this year and is still open. (Boston Restaurant Talk)
  
  
• Nordblom Development is holding a community meeting tonight Tues.), 5:30 p.m. on its proposed 96-unit apartment building (15 affordable units) across from the Coolidge Corner Library at 26 Pleasant St. The project was first pitched in spring, then pulled back for revisions. Meeting is at United Parish, 210 Harvard Street (enter on Marion St).
  
  
• MedVet, a national emergency veterinary practice, has reportedly leased the building at 60 Wells Ave., the former CyberArk headquarters.
  
  
• Meanwhile, CyberArk founder Udi Mokady is now chairman of CHEQ, a New York and Tel Aviv-based agentic security company. (BBJ)
  
  
• The state’s Executive Office of Housing & Livable Communities plans to publish its final regulations governing municipal rules on state surplus land disposed for housing development – including MassBay Community College — on Friday. (Swellesley Report)
  
  
• Wellesley’s Select Board continues to pursue its taxpayer-funded legal challenge to the designation of land at MassBay targeted for housing as surplus, with yet another executive session meeting tomorrow night.
  
  
• Join us tomorrow (Weds) at our annual Coffee Connect at The Street Chestnut Hill, 8:30-9:30 a.m. It’s free but please RSVP so we won’t run out of iced coffee.
  
  
• Check out this map showing photos taken by locals vs. photos taken by tourists. (Axios’ Mike Deehan).
  
  
• Brookline Golf Course has reopened its full 18-hole layout after a nine-month improvement project. (Patch)
  
  
• The Needham Community Council is looking for local businesses to step up and host summer food drives. To get your business involved, contact Maureen Callahan at mcallahan@needhamcouncil.org or call 781-444-2415.

A small breakthrough for the region’s lab market

While Greater Boston’s lab vacancy rate is among the nation’s highest at nearly 34%, the latest JLL market report offers some encouragement about future demand, reports Taylor Driscoll at Bisnow Boston.

The number of tenants seeking space jumped from 28 in the first quarter to 49 in the second, a “remarkable change,” according to JLL.

Still, the firm cautioned that the market has “seven times as much supply as there’s demand.”

“The next six months will probably be the best six months we’ve had in five years, but that is a low bar to clear, right?” JLL Director of Boston Research Mark Bruso tells Driscoll.

“We’ll look back and say 2026 was a turning point in this market cycle, and although rents will probably still be falling and there will still be really, really high vacancies, we can at least say that 2026 was better than 2025.”

At last, the Hoppah hits the wada

Who had July 2026 in the office pool as the month the Wada Hoppah would splash down onto the Charles River?

Entrepreneur Drew Rollert first floated his idea for ferry service from Watertown to the Back Bay in 2023.   This past weekend, he finally put an actual boat in the water, christening his all-electric Wada Hoppah, reports Charlie Breitrose at Watertown News.

Rollert plans to have the all-electric Wada Hoppah begin at the Watertown Square dock and go as far as a dock near the TD Garden, with stops along the way including near Fenway Park, the Hatch Shell, and Kenmore Square.

But you can’t hoppah ride yet.

Rollert still needs approval from the Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), which oversees the Charles River.

That’s what you need to know for today — Bastille Day — unless you want to see a pretty cool collection of book dedications.

Stay cool, friends.

Greg Reibman (he, him)

President & CEO

Charles River Regional Chamber

617.244.1688

I value your feedback

Max Woolf contributed to today’s newsletter.