Each week we’re scouring the web and local media for highlights and coverage of Boston real estate news. From notable sales and featured properties, to stunning pictures and market predictions. If you missed anything from the media platforms, we’ll be gathering all of the top headlines, here every week.
May 01, 2018 | BOSTON HERALD
US construction spending drops 1.7 percent in March
WASHINGTON — U.S. construction spending dropped 1.7 percent in March, the biggest setback in 11 months, with weakness in a number of sectors including the biggest plunge in home building in nine years.
The March decline was the first monthly drop since last July and the biggest contraction since a 1.8 percent fall in April 2017, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Spending on residential construction was down 3.5 percent, the worst showing since a 4.2 percent decline in April 2009.
May 03, 2018 | BISNOW
Back Bay Looks To Carry The Torch For Boston’s 2018 Office Boom
Back Bay, home to some of Boston’s most iconic architecture, expensive homes and legacy companies, has sat out the city’s current development boom. While the neighborhood features some of the city’s largest employers like insurance giant Liberty Mutual and an array of law and financial firms, the current life science and technology-driven cycle has centered around areas like the Seaport and Kendall Square.
Read more at: https://www.bisnow.com/boston/news/office/how-back-bay-galloped-back-into-the-cre-spotlight-88056?utm_source=CopyShare&utm_medium=Browser
May 03, 2018 | CURBED
Boston parking tickets to fund improvements for buses and bikes
Boston plans this July to hike the fines for 11 of the city’s most complained-about parking violations in order to pay for bike and bus improvements.
Those improvements will include new dedicated bus lanes as well as dedicated spots for ride-hailing services such as Uber to drop off and pick up. The city also plans to spend millions on signal improvements and repaving roads.
MAY 3, 2018 | BOSTON.COM
These five Greater Boston homes all sold for $3 million-plus
This week, a diverse group of homes sold for top dollar — and all for $3,000,000-plus. The biggest sales took place in Concord, Weston, Boston, and Brookline.
MAY 3, 2018 | BOSTON.COM
In handful of communities, lucky commuters happily take to the waves
Commuting in and out of Boston can be a form of ritualistic torture. Traffic, already unbearable 10 years ago, has gotten demonstrably worse since. Meanwhile, the MBTA’s subway and commuter rail systems both led the nation in major mechanical failures in 2016, according to a Federal Transit Administration report.
This Week in Boston Real Estate: Amazon announces plans, agents speak out on energy bill, and more
Though it hasn’t announced plans for its planned second headquarters and the 50,000 people it will employ, Amazon has announced an expansion of its Boston office.
The e-commerce goliath announced on Tuesday that it would move into a 430,000 square-foot office in WS Development’s Seaport project, according to the New York Times. Such a move will add an addition 2,000 jobs to the area, mostly in machine learning, speech science and robotics engineering.
MAY 4 2018 | BOSTON REAL ESTATE TIMES
Greenway Conservancy Announces 2018 Public Art Installations
BOSTON – The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy announced a slate of artists and artworks focused on light-based installations and interactive experiences that showcase the rapidly evolving concept of light and art in many forms.
The Greenway will exhibit eight historic Massachusetts neon signs, an interactive LED light-based piece commissioned from Luftwerk, and a kinetic sculpture commissioned from local artist Anne Lilly. These projects represent an array of cultures, perspectives, and artistic styles, appealing to a wide range of audiences in this free, accessible, and outdoor exhibit that stretches across a four-block section of The Greenway (Oliver to State streets).
MAY 4 2018 | CURBED
Boston home prices in May show several listings topping $3,000 a square foot
Asking prices for market-rate properties in the Boston area at the start of May range from $154 a square foot in Mattapan to $3,857 a square foot in Back Bay, according to an analysis from real estate research site NeighborhoodX.
Historic Massachusetts Hall to undergo renovation, preserving legacy
It’s been a dormitory, an army barracks, a lecture hall, an observatory, administrative offices. With a birthday in 1720, it’s older than the United States.
In its almost 300 years, Massachusetts Hall, the oldest surviving Harvard building, has stood as silent witness to the continuous metamorphosis of the campus and community surrounding it. From housing the Continental Army during the Revolution in 1775‒76 to surviving a devastating fire in 1924, the building’s resilience is largely due to meticulous preservation and maintenance spanning centuries.
