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At January's luncheon, Ben Breslau, Chief Research Officer, Americas of JLL spoke about big themes impacting the commercial real estate industry in the next decade.
Some pearls of wisdom from Ben: 1.) Organizational agility will be a critical factor to getting ahead of the competition. 2.) Investors are increasingly concerned with the environmental and societal impact of their investing. 3.) Elements that maximize human performance and engagement (lighting, acoustics, air quality, etc.) are becoming a differentiating factor in attracting the next tenant or employee.
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The Mentor Program had a very successful kick off lunch at JLL’s Offices This year’s Program is comprised of 32 members, including Peer to Peer and Mentee to Mentor pairs. After introductions and learning about suggestions for a successful experience, the mentors and mentees broke out into pairs to formalize their match and discuss logistics, as well as, what the mentees are looking to accomplish to begin a productive and rewarding mentorship relationship.
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Have you had your Vinegar Tonic or Golden Milk today? Done your walking or metta meditation? In January, the CREW Boston Entrepreneur Exchange had a really fun and interesting conversation on our own wellness tips and tricks. Unfortunately, it seems some things may only be made easier by young children growing more self-sufficient, but I certainly left with some new strategies. From meditation apps to yoga retreats, dog-walking to aerial yoga, we covered a lot of ground, recipes, and products. New Year, New You, New Shopping List?
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In November CREW Boston hosted a luncheon panel discussion about one of the industry’s favorite buzzwords: placemaking. The panel, which was moderated by Tara Piurko, a real estate partner at Toronto-based Miller Thomson and former CREW Network President, featured Jesse Brackenbury, Executive Director of The Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston; Russell Preston, Founder and Director of Principle Group, a planning, design, and development firm; Al Wilson, Founder and CEO of Beyond Walls in Lynn; and Laura Christopher, Real Estate Innovation Officer at MassDevelopment, explained what placemaking is, what it is not, and why real estate developers in the private sector should consider investing in placemaking to create successful, sustainable, and thriving projects and communities.
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The CREW Development Project Management Group held a successful Hard Hat tour of Kendall Square on October 10th. The evening started with presentations from Maureen McCaffrey of MITIMCo, Melissa Schrock of Boston Properties and Michelle Lower of Alexandria Real Estate. Participants were able to hear about the development projects which are transforming the Kendall Square area. Project team members including Architects, Engineers, Contractors and Project Managers then led a hard hat tour of MITIMCo's SOMA development and Boston Properties' Akamai Headquarters.
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On October 3rd at the Fairmont Copley, Lisa Wieland, Massport’s new CEO spoke to an engaged audience to hear about her role and upcoming initiatives. It ended with a fireside chat with CREW Boston President, Jill Sharif.
As Lisa stepped into her role this past August, her goals are to enhance the customer experience, maintain strong business relationships and optimize best practices for the organization.
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On July 25th, Harvard’s Director of Capital Projects, Shirin Karanfiloglu, Director of Common Spaces, Julie Crites, and Program Coordinator for Common Spaces, Tracey Daley, led a group of CREW members around Harvard’s new Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center. Shirin, Julie and Tracey shared details about the history of the original building, Harvard’s vision for creating a center of campus that is also open to the public, and the constraints of performing the renovation while the building was occupied. A few of our CREW members had worked on the project and shared their own insights into aspects of the design and the selection of furniture.
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CREW Boston members and guests enjoyed an evening in July for a boat tour of the Boston Harbor, the culmination of our year-long series of events discussing climate change and its impact on the commercial real estate industry. Panelists will discussed the unique features of Boston’s coastline and how that has informed and transformed a diverse array of projects and initiatives from Spaulding Rehab, to Clippership Wharf, to the previously proposed Boston Harbor barriers.
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The Sustainability Group hosted a brown bag lunch on July 11 to hear Richard McGuinness, Deputy Director for Climate Change and Environmental Planning at the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) discuss the City of Boston’s planning for the short and long term impacts of climate change and sea level rise.
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As a thank you to our Committee members for their dedication and hard work, we invited them to a cocktail reception at Tishman Speyer’s Studio, a new concept in co-working space that just opened in the heart of the Financial District. Along with great networking, food, and wine, members were entered into a raffle for some amazing giveaways to show our appreciation. Attendees were able to tour the unique space and hear what makes Studio different from other co-working spaces.
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On June 18th, CREW Boston’s Sustainability Group hosted an event on “Adapting Urban Environments to Rising Seas”. Jill Allen Dixon and Laura Marett from Sasaki discussed planning for resilience in Boston, including highlights of Sasaki’s work as a part of the citywide Climate Ready Boston consultant team, and in other cities.
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At CREW Boston's Annual Meeting & June Luncheon at the Mandarin Oriental, we heard from Alison Levine, author of the New York Times Bestseller, “On the Edge” and Team Captain for the first American women’s Everest expedition in 2002. Alison spoke at the CREW Network National Convention and we were excited to bring her pieces of leadership advice to our Boston Chapter.
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On June 12th, members joined Mickey Northcutt, founder and CEO of the North Shore Community Development Coalition, Inc. (NSCDC) for a walking tour of the “Point” neighborhood of Salem, highlighting the placemaking efforts of the Punto Art Museum hosted by the Housing & Community Development Committee.
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On a beautiful night in June, golfers met at Granite Links Golf Club for a clinic hosted by CREW Boston to help improve their swing and short game. After the clinic, the networking continued at the Crossing Nines Pation & Bar located between the putting green and driving range.
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CREW Boston cordially invites members and women working in the government/public sector as we celebrate and honor public sector women in real estate at the annual Women in Government Reception with special guest speaker, Kristen Lepore, Chief of Staff for Governor Charlie Baker.
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MassDevelopment is launching the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) a new mechanism to finance energy improvements on commercial and industrial properties in Massachusetts. Wendy O’Malley will join us to provide detail on the program.