The BBJ has a story about the new Kensington apartment project and how its estimated high rents might fare in Boston. Yours truly is prominently mentioned in the story as being among the skeptics who question whether the Hub can support such pricy rents, though I’d more than love to be proven wrong on that [...]

Both the sales and prices of downtown Boston condos soared in the first quarter, with median prices hitting an all-time quarterly high of $537,000, the Globe reports (sub. req.).

This is big news: The Big Pit will soon no longer be the Big Pit. After signing Arnold Worldwide as a major tenant, the developer plans to begin construction again, possibly within days, at the site of the old Filene’s building in Downtown Crossing. This is big — and most welcome — news. It will [...]

From 45 Province: “45 PROVINCE closed its 100th home with a record-breaking $4.01m sale, showing that the Boston residential real estate market in 2013 is not slowing down after exceptional activity in 2012. At $1285 per square foot, 45 PROVINCE’s 100th closing ranks as one of the top five highest condo sales in all of [...]

Not that the downtown real estate market needs any more incentives to attract buyers, but the mayor’s decision to buy and open a new school in the North End, at 585 Commercial Street, can only further enhance the attractiveness of the area for young families. One gripe: A number of years ago, a bunch of [...]

Obviously, it’s good to hear that the developer of the old Downtown Crossing Filene’s site may have Arnold Worldwide lined up as a future tenant and that it may mean the developer can now get crucial financing for the project. But excuse us if we’re more than a little dubious about this. How many times [...]

Ouch. The renovation of the Government Center T is long overdue and could spur other necessary changes to the entire barren, wind-swept Government Center Plaza in general. But closing the station for two years? Guess it’s got to be done. From the Globe: The Government Center subway station is scheduled to shut down for two [...]

Whether you call it Downtown Crossing or Midtown or Downtown or just the Washington Street area, the once rather seedy, rundown section of Boston’s old retail district is really taking off. The Globe has a big front page spread on all the changes, including a terrific graphic showing all the current or planned new buildings [...]

Contrary to early hopes that the old Locke-Ober restaurant might be later revived after last month’s closing, it looks like the new owners are planning to open a new restaurant, with a new name, on Winter/Jackson Place in Downtown Crossing. From a real estate standpoint, the other interesting thing is that the new owners, who [...]

Though it’s clear the landmark Locke-Ober restaurant in Downtown Crossing had seen its better days, it’s sudden closing still comes as a sort of shock. Brian McGrory has details about what happened: David Ray, the owner of the venerable Locke-Ober, called this morning to confirm what a city already knew. He has sold the building [...]