JLL Providing Project Management Services for West Roxbury YMCA Expansion

BOSTON — JLL's Project and Development Services group is providing project management services for the YMCA of Greater Boston's expansion at their West Roxbury facility. The West Roxbury YMCA serves over 10,000 members of the surrounding communities. The $15 million project will update the 61-year-old facility with the demolition of 16,000 square feet from an existing building, and the construction of a 24,000-square-foot addition. The project includes a renovated gymnasium, a new state-of-the art fitness center, a new lobby, two wellness studios and an extended parking area. The current facility Continue reading >>>

Kiss, Def Leppard to bring summer tour to Hartford, Greater Boston

Kiss founding member Gene SimmonsThe Republican file photo  Kiss will celebrates its 40th anniversary and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by co-headlining a summer tour with Def Leppard. The 40-plus city North America begins on June 23 in West Valley City, Utah. Two New England stops are planned: Friday, Aug. 1, at 7 p.m. at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Mass.; and Sunday, Aug. 10, at 7 p.m. the Xfinity Theatre in Hartford. Mansfield tickets are priced at $79.50 to $175 and Hartford seats are between $69.50 and $169.50. Tickets for both shows go on sale on Friday at 10 Continue reading >>>

Winter sweeps in again Wednesday, before spring’s arrival Thursday

After several days of highly anticipated sunshine, another winter storm is expected to sweep through the region Wednesday night, but with little impact foreseen for the greater Boston area, according to the National Weather Service. “It looks now like it’s going to be heavy [in Western Massachusetts], about 1 to 3 inches,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Simpson. “But it should be just rain by morning.” Boston should get a trace of snow at most, and Cape Cod and the coastline should only get rain. Today will be mostly sunny and dry. High temperatures will reach Continue reading >>>

Concert news: Phish headed to Greater Boston, Goo Goo Dolls and Daughtry to …

Phish guitarist and singer Trey Anastasio, left, and bassist Mike Gordon.DAVID MOLNAR/ THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO  Goo Goo Dolls will tour this summer with Daughtry and Plain White Ts. The tour comes to the Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Conn., on June 12. Tickets are on sale beginning Saturday, March 22 through livenation.com. The Band Perry’s “World Tour 2014” will stop at the Toyota Oakdale Theater on May 1. Tickets go on sale beginning Friday at 10 a.m. through livenation.com. Phish has added the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Mass., to their summer touring itinerary. The Continue reading >>>

T station technology for visually impaired to debut in ’16

Navigating a T station can be challenging enough — even without a visual impairment. A new technology designed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst might make subway orienteering easier for blind people — or more likely, for people who lack that innate Bostonian I-know-exactly-where-I’m-going sixth sense — by offering step-by-step instructions on how to get to their destination inside a T station. The electronic navigation system, called PERCEPT, uses a smartphone application to help people detect landmarks inside a station and provides verbal directions for moving from one Continue reading >>>

No Deposit Required at Watertown’s Alta at the Estate

Here's yet another Greater Boston apartment complex offering incentives to tenants—in this case, the 11.6-acre, 155-unit Alta at the Estate off Waltham Street, which is dangling during its current pre-leasing phase the prospect of one month free rent if you lease by March 20 and no security deposits for the foreseeable future. Its 81 1-BRs, 73 2-BRs and one (yes, one) 3-BR are spread over two four-story buildings, and there's one two-story townhouse as well. There's also a clubhouse with a cyber cafe and a fitness center. And, in a nod to our Revolutionary past, design flourishes at Continue reading >>>

Hotel openings, happenings in Boston

210-room Courtyard Boston TD Garden/North Station is slated to open in 2015 as part of the $165 million “Merano” development on the Beverly Street section of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, adjacent to TD Garden, near Boston’s North End. The project site, which features unobstructed views of Boston’s iconic Zakim Bridge and skyline, will also add shops and restaurants. Construction will begin in spring 2014. Haymarket Square Hotel Boston Public Market: Developers Normandy Real Estate Partners and Jones Lang LaSalle will build the mid-priced 180-room Haymarket Square Hotel. The Boston Continue reading >>>

BOSTON LOGAN AIRPORT ADDS 5 DIRECT INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES IN 2 …

Within the past two years, Boston Logan Airport has added five nonstop international services reaching Tokyo, Panama City, Dubai, Istanbul, and Beijing. This move will not only save Bostonians the hassle of rushing to the right terminal in short layovers, but also boost tourism and consumption spending in Beantown. According to Pat Moscaritolo, President and CEO of Greater Boston Convention Visitors Bureau, $2.1 billion is spent by international visitors out of the estimated $12 bilion spent annually by visitors to Boston. “Boston is especially attractive to international visitors because Continue reading >>>

Renting old home helps buy a new one

Highlights from the Boston Real Estate Now blog. Sellers who want to move up to a bigger house face a big problem in today’s market. Sure, with prices rising, you are more likely to get a decent price for your old home. But can you actually find something to buy? Continue reading below With the inventory of unsold homes down as much as 30 percent from last year in some parts of Greater Boston, it’s a huge problem. So far, overly ambitious home renovations don’t appear to be holding back the market. That said, one way some move-up buyers have found to bridge the gap is by renting Continue reading >>>