With a population of over 600,000, Boston is the largest city in the state of Massachusetts and is hailed as New England’s cultural and economical capital. The roots of American history can be intrinsically traced back to the city of Boston. The city staged some of the American Revolution’s most pivotal events, including the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, and the Battle of Bunker Hill. The city’s strategic location on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean meant that it became a gateway for Europeans into the United States.
Now, the city lies at the center of the Cambridge-Boston-Quincy ‘Greater Boston’ area, constituting the 10th largest metropolitan area of the U.S., with a total population of over 4.4million.
Boston’s neighbouring Cambridge is also home to America’s first and oldest college and arguably the world’s most famous university, Harvard College. Many businesses, lured by the high calibre of Harvard’s graduates and the other highly regarded universities of the region, have set up camp in Boston. Boston and Cambridge’s local universities have attracted some of the world’s leading high-tech and pharmaceutical companies, and the city boasts a dense population of start-up companies.
Boston, being relatively small in size as compared to some of America’s other great cities, relies heavily on public transport which includes both a busy bus and metro system. It is also known as the ‘Walking City’ as a very high number of people commute by foot. This is owed in part to the city’s density and in part to its prominent student population.
Due to Boston’s early foundations, the Downtown area, which houses eight different executive suite office centers, was not based on a grid system like other U.S. cities of this size, but grew in a more organic form, akin to European cities. The newer Back Bay area of Boston, however, is organized on a grid system and is slightly easier to navigate. The Back Bay area has been increasingly targeted by executive suite providers, and offices in this slightly more modern area of Boston are highly sought after, although the availability is still relatively low.
People looking for executive suite office space in Boston are often willing to consider looking over the Charles River into Cambridge and Charlestown, where they can immerse themselves in slightly more academic environments amidst numerous college campuses. Some businesses wishing to avoid the traffic and commute into the city centre will also consider basing their executive suite offices in the Waltham, Newton, Wellesley and Needham areas of Greater Boston, from where they can quickly reach Boston’s city centre on the I90, or the Massachusetts Turnpike.
The costs vary considerably in the Boston market for executive suite office space. In the Financial District, one can expect to pay approximately $1,100 a person, with this cost including a full package. However, some offices in prime locations can cost as much as $2,000 a person. While this is at the higher end of the cost spectrum, such options are still more cost-effective options than those offered by other major cities such as NYC and LA. However, competition among operators for tenants has led some locations on the Financial District’s peripheries to lower their price at times to $500 for a one-person office, but generally the average cost per person in the Boston area hovers at around $800 a month.
The Downtown Financial District appeals primarily to law firms and financial services industries, but because of the small area of the city, clients in all industries are willing to consider the Back Bay and South Bay areas as well. Currently, executive suite availability in the Boston area does not have any trouble accommodating client demand, and there is a variety of office configurations available, as well as price ranges that are able to meet all budgets. The Boston area executive suite market has been very popular with European and international firms wishing to establish a base or first-time office in the U.S. and North America due to its cultural diversity and competitive pricing as compared to other major US cities where pricing is often beyond budget for first-time offices. The city is also more reminiscent of European culture and lifestyle, easing the process of relocation to a new country.
The executive suite market in Boston is highly competitive, boasting a wide range of business centers, each of which offers a different atmosphere, price-range and services. This ensures that the city can ultimately cater for the needs of all businesses, new and established, when it comes to both flexible and longer-term commitment terms. Boston’s executive suite market continues to grow and is becoming increasingly competitive, as the city itself grows and continues re-writing its deeply diverse American heritage and history.