Redevelopment of a former Raytheon Corp. property in Connecticut will be anchored by Wayfair and Lowe’s, which have leased a combined 2.5 million square feet of distribution space.
Local commercial real estate researchers are tracking nearly 500,000 square feet of sublease space in Greater Boston that’s hit the market since mid-March as the area faces questions about the future of office space and a sizable construction pipeline.
Shutdowns of Chinese factories since the COVID-19 outbreak are having a longer and larger-than-expected effect on U.S. imports, according to the leading retail industry group.
Suddenly, the most serious threat since the Great Recession looms over the hitherto-booming downtown Boston office market.
Disruption to U.S. commercial real estate markets from the coronavirus outbreak will hit the hotel and retail industries hardest initially and cause supply chain disruptions that could affect the tech sector.
Wayfair’s layoffs of 3 percent of its workforce including 350 employees at its Back Bay headquarters mark the end of the online furniture giant’s steady growth as one of Boston’s largest office tenants.
“It’s about a slow but steady transformation. It’s almost like a formula. Keep up with the current businesses you have. Promote the ‘cultural economy.’ Try to attract new businesses.”
Pier 1 Imports is closing nearly half its 942 stores as it struggles to draw consumers and compete online.
Before they occupy their new buildings, global corporations such as Amazon, Wayfair and Boeing rely on Gaston Electrical to provide them with reliable connections to the grid. Michael Weber and his brother William split the leadership duties for the company, which has 275 employees.
The number of college graduates with tech degrees in Greater Boston’s increased 61 percent between 2012 and 2017, and the region ranks seventh out of 50 North American markets in CBRE’s annual tech talent scorecard.
Even with the construction of millions of square feet of new office and lab properties in recent years positive absorption remains steady year over year. But traffic isn’t the only dark lining among the silver clouds floating above the Pru. Inequality is a growing issue here
Boston-based online home furnishings retailer Wayfair will open its first full-service physical retail store later this year in the Natick Mall.
Online furniture vendor Wayfair has signed a lease for a new call center in its CEO’s hometown.
Wayfair’s lease of 300,000 square feet at St. James Ave. in Boston will enable it to expand its Back Bay workforce to 10,000 – along with another 300 at a new sales and customer service center in Pittsfield.
Boston had the third-strongest office market absorption in the U.S. during the second quarter, reflecting e-commerce firm Wayfair’s big expansion in the Back Bay and continued growth of the co-working sector.
Fresh off its signing of a nearly 400,000-square-foot office lease in Back Bay, online retailer Wayfair is already scouting real estate for its biggest expansion to date.
After recent high-profile office leases by Amazon, Rapid7 and Alexion Pharmaceuticals in recent months, numerous companies remain in the hunt for big blocks of space in Boston and Cambridge.
