The site would join the displaced company, which currently occupies ten different locations near Central Square in Cambridge. It is estimated that that the move would not occur until late 2013 or early 2014.

Check out pictures of the first concrete pour below:

The large-scale operation begins.

Depositing 2500 cubic feet of concrete-slowly but surely.

All with the care and precision you can get at 42 feet below the surface.

One layer done, 5 more pours to go!

The 750,000 square foot complex adjacent to the Boston Intercontinental Hotel and Residences will consist of 70 residential units, a few restaurants, commercial office space and a waterfront plaza. About 450,000 square feet of office space will be leased by the financial giant Wellington Financial.

Photograph from Boston.com

It seems like the 2008 turmoil was decades ago, however the repercussions of that tremendous calamity are still being felt today. FHLB lost over $115 Million in their investment portfolio during the crash of 2008 and their first quarter 2009 numbers were not much better, with a loss of over $84 Million.  The FHLB is an essential source of mortgage funding for New England lenders. It’s the bank for banks, if you will. So what effect does this have on the smaller banks, the developers looking for the loans and more importantly the citizens of Boston?

The loss of FHLB has had a significant impact on lending in the city. Many projects have stalled due to lack of funding. Potential jobs from these projects have been thrown by the wayside and of course the revenue that the developments would have brought into the city is now at $0. We are all affected by the FHLB losses. Although the second quarter numbers are much better than that of 2008 or first quarter 2009, with a loss of a little over $4 Million, we are still a ways to go before we see anything above the red line.

The 5.8 percent drop in the prices is the fourth consecutive quarterly drop and the sixth in the past seven quarters, according to an index developed by MIT’s Center for Real Estate. Prices are now 21 percent below where they were a year ago and 26 percent below its mid-2007 peak. Commercial real estate prices in the first quarter are comparable to the 27 percent drop the index recorded in the last major commercial property downturn in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The index tracks prices that institutions pay or receive when buying or selling commercial properties such as shopping centers, apartment complexes and office towers.

A topping off ceremony is usually held to put the last steel beam in place. Due to wind gusts, developer Joseph Fallon held off hoisting the beam but celebrated the milestone nonetheless.

The 525,000-square-foot office and retail building under way on South Boston’s Fan Pier is one of the only buildings in Boston being constructed without a major anchor tenant. Fallon previously told the Boston Business Journal he will move his company, The Fallon Co., from the nearby World Trade Center to One Marina Park Drive.

The 18-story building is expected to open by 2010. According to a press release, One Marina Park Drive will be the only LEED-certified building to open in Boston that year. The building is being constructed by Turner Construction and was designed by Elkus/Manfredi Architects Inc.

Buildings 600, 650 and 700 at 1 Kendall Square total 234,631 square feet on five floors. The property was constructed in 1916 and then renovated in 1986. It features an atrium, bio-tech lab space, courtyard, on-site management and a restaurant on-site.

After a 17-month permitting process and heavy public opposition, Boston Properties will construct a tower standing 242 feet high. Residents and community activists lined up on Thursday in one last-ditch effort to thwart the project.

Boston Properties originally proposed a building 265 feet tall, but reduced the height in response to neighborhood concerns.

“We’re very excited about the process we went through and we’re very excited about the approval,” said Bryan Koop, senior vice president and regional manager of the Boston-based real estate investment trust.

Representatives from Boston Properties declined to comment about when the project might break ground. Michael Cantalupa, senior vice president of development, said construction on the building won’t start without a lead tenant.

Source: Boston Business Journal

 The Columbus Center Project will consist of 443 Condominiums, a 162-room hotel, three parks and 39,400 square feet of retail space. The project will stradle the Back Bay, South End and Bay Village neighborhoods of Boston. Other new developments in the area are 285 Columbus Lofts and The Clarendon.

CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. reported full year 2007 revenue rose 49.7% to $6 billion. The company reported net income of $390.5 million compared to net income of $318.6 million in 2006. However, fourth quarter revenue was just 30.4% compared to the year earlier and net income was less in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared to a year earlier.

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. reported record net income of $256 million for the year, an increase of 46% over 2006. Revenue for the full year 2007 was $2.7 billion, an increase of 32% from the prior year. Fourth quarter net income increased just 30% from a year earlier and revenue only 22% from 2006.

Both firms are world powerhouses, but it is clear from where the slowdown is coming. For Jones Lang LaSalle, revenue in the Americas region for the full year 2007 was $765 million, an increase of 23% over the prior year, but fourth quarter revenue increased just 11%.

For CB Richard Ellis, sales in the Americas increased by 7% for the full year but decreased by 14% for the fourth quarter. As for leasing, for the full year leasing activity increased 3% but fourth quarter was flat.

Executives from the two companies added color to the numbers and provided their outlooks for the coming year in their quarterly conference calls following the release of the results this month.

Source: Co-Star