Contact – William P. Barrack, Principal, Brokerage Group

International Place

Despite publicity surrounding the bankruptcy filing of International Place, activity in the buildings has been strong. Three leases have been signed recently. Law firm Choate Hall & Stewart relocated from 53 State Street to 155,000 square feet at Two International Place, with a lease term of ten years on floors 5 and 21, and floors 29 through 35. Littler Mendelson is relocating to One International Place, and has signed a lease for 16,004 square feet on the 27th floor. Law firm Day, Berry & Howard signed a 41,399 square foot lease on the 16th and 17th floors for a ten year term. These recent leases have brought availability to 23% in the two buildings. As history has indicated, the pricing on International Place, which is the premier office tower in the Boston market, will play a significant role for the remainder of the tower market. With the possibility of increased availability of tower space from the two large corporate mergers, the towers of International Place are actively leasing today to avoid increased downtime in the second half of 2004.

Leasing Activity

131 Dartmouth Street – The owner of 131 Dartmouth Street, Heritage Property Investment Trust, is relocating into 31,000 SF in the Back Bay building. The property was delivered in the fourth quarter of 2002, and has attracted Bain and Applied Insurance Research as tenants in the property, however still maintains a 49% vacancy rate.

One Boston Place – Boston Capital Institutional Advisors renewed and expanded at One Boston Place. The firm is taking 50,000 square feet on the 21 – 23rd floors for a twelve-year term. The deal included 9,000 square feet of expansion space. The TIAA CREF/SITQ Immobilier-owned property is 18% available.

28 State Street – L.E.K. Consulting is relocating to 28 State Street, signing a lease for 28,000 square feet. The lease commences in January of 2005. The tower is owned by Equity Office Properties and is 99% occupied.

Residential

360 Newbury Street – The Back Bay building with a Virgin Megastore on first floor, and office space on the upper floors is expected to be converted to residential. Capital Properties recently got BRA approval to convert the upper levels of the site into as many as 54 condos. With the Boston office market maintaining significant availability, owners have taken an interest in residential conversions. Lincoln Plaza and 210 South Street in the leather district have already decided to convert, while there has been significant “buzz” surrounding a number of other properties in Boston.

Sales

10 Milk Street – Oasis Development Enterprises recently closed on 10 Milk Street, purchasing the property from RAK Group. The 100-year-old building sold for $56.9 million. The property was pulled off the market 10 months ago after ownership failed to find a buyer in the low $50 million range. There are numerous properties now on the market in Boston, and sales activity is expected to pick up throughout the year as a number of properties are currently under agreement.