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On March 11th CREW Boston enjoyed a virtual tour of Bulfinch’s Cambridge Discovery Park, a 27-acre first-class lab and office campus in Alewife’s life science cluster in Cambridge, MA. We heard from project team panelists Mike Wilcox, Director of Leasing at Bulfinch; Molly Heath, Managing Director at JLL; and Eric Weyant, Principal at Stantec on the history of the Arthur D. Little site and its revitalization into a world-class campus, providing a desirable destination for office and lab tenants while including the restoration and preservation of neighboring wetlands and wooded areas.
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At February’s luncheon, Greg Karczewski (President at Union Square Station Associates (US2), Sunayana Thomas (Senior Economic Development Planner at the City of Somerville, and Thanos Matthaie (Associate at DLA Piper LLP (US) presented on both the history and the future revitalization of Somerville’s Union Square.
Greg Karczewski in partnership with development partners, USAA Real Estate and Magellan Development Group were selected back in 2014 by the City of Sommerville to be the Master Developer to lead this 2.4 million SF transit-oriented development and transform Somerville into Boston’s next innovation ecosystem through a concentration of life science and technology companies. The mission was to get companies to start, grow, and stay in Sommerville. After the streetcar went away and no public connectivity existed in and out of Somerville the city found itself a bit lost. The approval and addition of two new green line train stops strategically located on each side of the square was the real catalyst for fostering future development and desirability for companies to make Somerville their headquarters. After years of community outreach, thoughtful planning, and curating the right public/private partnerships , Union Square is prime to become Boston’s next major epi-center for biotech, lab, and life science office space.
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This virtual conversation, led by member Lisa DonFrancesco and hosted by the Entrepreneur Exchange Committee, was a repeat event from 2020. Given the way our lives, schedules, diets, homes, offices, and world in general have changed, Lisa discussed the various ways members can take care of themselves during a global pandemic. She shared her experiences, tricks, and tips for self-care, including her favorite meditation and yoga apps, recipes, and products.
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CREW Boston and the CREW Boston Educational Foundation hosted students from around New England to attend our free, virtual UCREW educational program for undergraduate and graduate students interested in a career in the commercial real estate industry.
The program was free and a wonderful opportunity to learn about careers in commercial real estate from the development of a project (design, acquisition/disposition, commercial lending, tax, law, marketing, title/escrow), network with industry professionals in breakout rooms and more.
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On February 3, 2020, members attended the Public Strategies Committee’s virtual breakfast to hear from an esteemed panel of CREW Boston members that are active in their local government. The panelists described how they first became involved in local government, which included stories of connections made through youth sports programs and neighborly conversations while shoveling snow. Each of the panelists described the benefits of participation in local government, including valuable experience with public speaking, more active involvement in their community as a whole and have a voice in what/how things are accomplished, and a chance to give back to the communities they care about. The panelists also provided some practical advice for CREW members who need to interact with local government, stressing the importance of understanding and respecting the role of local government staff, and being mindful that communications over all platforms are part of the public record. The conversation included a great discussion with the audience, culminating with panel members articulating the powerful role that CREW Boston has played in their careers
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During this webinar, members discussed the global and real estate market outlook for 2021. Featuring guest speaker Neil Blake, Global Head of Forecasting and Analytics and EMEA Chief Economist for CBRE, topics of discussion included how rapidly will economies recover; which sectors will be fastest and slowest to bounce back; will there be any lingering impacts on real estate; how will political change in the United States and ongoing changes in geopolitical relationships affect the global economy; and more.
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This was a virtual networking and peer-to-peer advising event hosted by the Development Project Management Group. Members discussed current challenges before breaking into separate rooms to discuss three topics – leading teams, client management, and technology.
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In this Virtual Global Conversation Corner, members learned the first steps to take to starting a DEI initiative at their workplace, chapter, or community. Featuring guest speaker Damaris Patterson Price, Principal at Working River Leadership, topics included how to develop the community connections critical to their organization succeeding; how to identify the obstacles to this existential building block; and what to do to create positive change with a strategic get started framework.
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At January’s luncheon, Kerry Dowling (Senior Vice President of Leasing), Bridget Beckeman (Managing Director of Retail Strategies), and Maria Salvatore (Leasing Consultant) of Wilder Companies presented the most recent update of the Arsenal Yards development in Watertown. The “urban edge” location of this million square foot development at the corner of Cambridge and Boston is a significant reason for the success of leasing the project’s 250,000 SF of retail, 200,000 SF of life science office, 300 apartments, and 150-room hotel. A 10-minute drive catchment area with 250,000 residents earning an average household income of $130,000 and an average home value of $741,000 has easily captured the interest of retail and office tenants. Also key to the success of leasing has been the design of an urban-like density along the promise of free parking.
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The Sustainability Group was excited and pleased to present long-time CREW Boston member Kimberly Vermeer to speak about her new book, Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing, Revised Edition. In the book, she and co-author Walker Wells present a comprehensive resource on how green building principles can be incorporated into affordable housing design, construction, and operation. This fully revised edition captures the rapid evolution of green building practices and makes a compelling case for integrating green building into affordable housing. They argue that cities must embrace green affordable housing in the face of climate change and the affordable housing crisis.
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