July 13, 2025 • 58 mins
In today’s program, we’re joined by the President and CEO of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce Paul Neidzweicki. Paul tells us about the success of the Fourth of July weekend on Cape Cod. Then we turn to the issue of affordable housing in New England. Rhonda Pieroni CEO of Hearth INC, joins us to talk about that nonprofits efforts to increase affordable housing for older New Englanders. Paul Linet founder and President of 3iHOME tells us about a number of projects his organization is supporting in the state of Maine for those living with disabilities. We’re also joined by the owner of Broadway Capital, Mike Vienneau. Mike’s company is responsible for a new affordable housing project in the city of Chelsea. Finally, the executive editor of the Boston Business Journal, Doug Banks is our guest to talk about the major business headlines of the week.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the New England Business Report with Joe short
Sleeve and Kim Carrigan, a weekly roundup and discussion of
the top business news impacting our New England economy.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the New England Business
Report on this Sunday morning. These July the thirteenth, my goodness,
were already at the middle of the month. That's hard
to believe, Joe, along with Joe short sleep and the
fourth of July certainly in the rear view mirror. And
that's hard to believe, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Yeah, we are racing through summer, no doubt about it.
But I can tell you, Kim, I was down the
Cape over the fourth of July, and I mean one
quick story. I pulled onto Craigville Beach Road on the
actual fourth and now I know this is you know,
some nine days ago at this point, but I'd never
seen anything like it. Traffic was backed up, Wow, both directions.
(00:51):
They had police at the town beach and the public
beach waving people away. Was not saying we're at capacity.
We're at capacity, I mean, isn't it was? It was really,
you know, something to be seen. I mean, uh, And
then you know I also track you know, traffic, because
I'm not in it.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
This time, right, finally, right, not in it.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
But it was like, you know, it was three hours.
It was three hours to Metro West, which is it
should be half that?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yeah, that that's really tough. Well, we're going to find
out just how great the fourth of July weekend was
for the Cape because we're going to talk to the
president of the Cape Town Chamber of Commerce, Paul Ned's wiki.
He's going to be our guest, so we'll chat with
him about why he thinks this was such a banner
year there on the Cape. You know, the combination of
good weather and the fact that it was on a Friday.
(01:40):
My daughter said, I'm going to be president someday. In
the first declaration, I'm going to make it's no longer
the fourth it's the first Friday of every July. I said, well,
all right, you got my vote.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
It's like Halloween has got to be, you know, the
last Saturday in October. But trading you got.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
It exactly after mister Nedswiki. We're going to talk about
a really important issue in this region, and that's housing
and the impact that the lack of affordable housing for
all different members of our community is having on the
New England economy. So we decided that we would look
at three different organizations that are working to improve this situation.
(02:19):
We're going to start with Ronda Peroni. She is the
CEO of Hearth Inc. Now, that's a nonprofit that's working
to increase housing for the elderly, a group that's frequently
forgotten when it comes to housing issues. And Joe, we're
going to talk to some other experts.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Yeah, we are. We're going to be talking with Paul Lennette. Now,
he's the founder of a company called three I Home. Now,
they technically aren't here in Massachusetts, they're in the state
of Maine, but they are considered an example to all
about what is coming up. Three iHome is pioneering universally designed,
(02:58):
tech enabled housing to serve people with disabilities and aging residents.
And Paul and Nett will tell us how he thinks
that proves affordability and accessibility can and should coexist. And
then we're going to be talking with a gentleman by
the name of Mike Venot. Mike's company is Broadway Capital
(03:19):
h and he's developing housing in Chelsea, Okay, and it's
for the workforce and mixed income. But the interesting thing
about this project in Chelsea that he's working on is
he's using bitcoin and his partner there they're using their
Bitcoin Reserve fund to help finance affordability and is considered
(03:41):
to be one of the first of the kind in
the country. So anyway, three different platforms right as they
relate to affordable housing. We're going to touch upon this
morning here on the New England Business Support. And then
we have, as usual, the executive editor of the Boston
Business Journal, one of Doug Banks. And Doug will be
along a number of headlines and some of them contradictory.
(04:05):
One headline is this one in Boston promising signs Boston
office vacancy rates down, absorption hits a high. I'm like,
oh okay, so Boston's looking better. And then the next
story right behind it, Kim the national headline national office
vacancy rate hits new record high, meaning that there's more
(04:29):
open space and the Boston that space is being picked up.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
So maybe we're doing something right here, Joe, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
I don't. I don't know, but exactly, so we're going
to be talking about that, and then we're also going
to be talking about what's going on at Logan Airport,
and in terms of Rich Davy, he's the new CEO
of Massport. And you know, I didn't realize. I mean,
I always thought that their focus was on the international traveler,
but they are refocusing on that and trying to make
(04:55):
what they just call Logan Airport, you know, an international hub. Yeah,
so that's a hearing a lot more about it.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
They want to compete more with New York than what
we are currently and.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Kim, we've been talking about it already this morning. But
you know, I can't get over the Fourth of July
on Cape Cod in terms of the crowds, and it
was really, you know, something I've never really seen. But
I think it was a combination of things, like the
weather all came together and the fourth was on a Friday,
you know, so it all helped. Anyway, let's bring in
the CEO the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, a regular
(05:30):
visitor of the program, Paul nids Wiki, Paul, welcome, and
it seemed like a big success so far as we
kick off the summer of twenty twenty five. But give
us the you know, what your perspective is and the
data points you're looking at.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
Yeah, I know, the fourth this year was big. We
had a lot of people here. We also had a
lot of people two weeks prior, as the Juneteenth Holiday
fell on a Thursday, so a lot of people took
Friday off. So we've had two really big, big weekends
to kick this off. But the fourth, there are a
lot of people down here, and I think you're right, Joe,
(06:05):
it's a convergence of sort of issues. Sometimes you get
amnesia in the fourth falls on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday,
a little bit more problematic for people. But when it's
on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, we see big crowds.
And just looking at some of the traffic data and
the trips over the Sagamore and the Bourne bridges, there's
(06:25):
a lot of two way traffic on the fourth. So
it suggests that the weather was good, sport was on
a Friday, and a lot of people made day trips
down over the weekend.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Well, it was a pretty tough spring because you know,
I don't remember exactly the number, but I'm going to
say there were between twelve and fourteen weekends in a
row that it rained. So I didn't want to say
the exact it was fourteen, but who's county. But anyway,
do you think this helped to make up some of that?
Speaker 4 (06:59):
I think there was a lot of pent up demand
for a nice sunny day in Cape cut Beaches. Yeah,
so I think that that did draw a lot of
people down. But occupancy, even through the rainy Saturdays Spring
occupancy and a lot of the traditional lodging or the hotels,
motels and short term rentals was pretty much where we
(07:20):
were last year. So we didn't see a gift in
occupancy at all. But I think it was just pent
up demand. And you know, the Cape is a great
place to celebrate, especially a holiday like the Fourth of July, you.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Know, not to you know, make fun of situations where
people are in pain in their car and traffic. But
at the same time, I was watching the bridge times
and how long it took to get Metro West Boston
from Cape Cod and watching it on the Sunday and
the Monday and even in the Tuesday, and it was
always like three hours. I just again, I just really
(07:56):
hadn't seen anything like that in my lifetime.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
No, the backups were pretty significant over the fourth you know,
the traffic over the bridge is generally the traffic on
Cape is split about fifty percent Onborne Bridge ty percent
on the Sagamore, but the traffic off Cape is weighed
heavily more heavily like sixty forty to Sagamore, so Sagamore itself.
(08:21):
You know, one of the reasons we need to replace
the bridges is because they're functionally obsolete, so they are
a little bottleneck. The approaches on either side of both
bridges can handle a lot more traffic than the bridges itself,
and that exit one on ramp in front of the
former Christmas Tree shop really sort of backs things up
when people are trying to leave the Cape. Then the
(08:41):
scenic highway itself becomes the conflict between those people trying
to leave the Cape and those people trying to come on.
So I think the good news long term is that
the bridge replacement project is going to fix a lot
of those issues. So they'll still be traffic, they'll still
be away time, but it shouldn't be three hours for Metro.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
West, which is certainly good news for a lot of people. Paul,
Let's talk a little bit about the businesses down there.
For the longest time after COVID, you know, a lot
of businesses had to stay closed for a few days
a week because it was so tough to get employees.
And now we're facing all these issues related to housing
and so on and so forth. How are businesses doing now?
(09:21):
Are they able to be open seven days a week
and what are they doing about employees?
Speaker 5 (09:28):
Yeah, for the.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
Most part, we've seen businesses return to a normal kind
of operational schedule. A lot of the businesses during the
pandemic and during some of the work workforce shortages that
were part of that sort of time period, they've adapted
their business practices so they can run a little bit later.
But you know, on the Cave, we're heavily reliant on
(09:51):
form born workers to support their regional economy. Happened for decades.
Heavily reliant on this J one program, which is a
culture exchange program and the H two B that program
through the J one'es are through the State Department. Hdps
are through the Department of Labor. And we did have
an issue during the pandemic obviously, and then after the
sponsoring agencies of these students that came here to work
(10:13):
were requiring housing, which became even more difficult after the
pandemic to provide, so we dropped from about five thousand
J one students and there's only one hundred thousand of
those permits available nationally. Five thousand of the market cod
we dropped to about half. But we've worked over the
last three years really to build that back. So this
(10:34):
year we had a full compliment. We have a full
compliment of J one students that are out there, so
the labor supply issues to have eased somewhat. It was
also a lot of people transitioned, especially in the restaurant
business after COVID they decided they wanted to try something else.
We're starting to see a lot of these people come
back to the restaurant business.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Paul and Neswicki's our guest. He's the CEO of the
Cape God Chamber of Commerce. I'm curious about membership well
in the Cape Cod Chamber, but also a business count.
I assume you track that as well. Our small businesses.
Is a number of small businesses growing down in the
Cape or are we stagnant? Where are we?
Speaker 4 (11:12):
It is growing. The overall number of businesses continues to
grow on the Cape. We are seeing more consolidation of
certain industry clusters. You know, insurance is one, landscaping is another,
and even on the accommodation side, we've seen some larger
off Cape companies come in and buy multiple properties. So
(11:32):
there's been a change in the character of ownership in
some of these industries. But the number of businesses themselves
continue to increase. And the Cape Cod Chamber last month
officially merged with the FAMAS Chamber. So as a chamber,
we're bigger now about fourteen fifteen hundred numbers. I think
(11:54):
when that's all done, we should make us I believe,
the second largest chamber of the state.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Terrific. Good for you. Well, here we are. It is
mid July and obviously had a really great as you
just said, fourth of July, and in the week before.
What are we anticipating as we move forward? We've got
another six you know, six full weeks of summertime.
Speaker 4 (12:16):
Yeah, no, we you know, in Moral Day is the
unofficial kickoff. Then we have the fourth that's the real sprint.
So you know, I think we're going to be busy
really right through Labor Day. At this point, we'll see
a little bit of a traditional dip in the last
two weeks of August, but the last two weeks of July.
In the first two weeks of August for the Cape
(12:38):
traditionally our busiest season, and we think that's exactly how
it's going to play out for the rest of the summer.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Superul, what's on your desk? What do you see as
the most interesting business development on Cape Cod these days
this summer?
Speaker 4 (12:51):
Well, you know, some of it's not all great news,
but we're we're you know, we have a Blue Economy
Foundation that we work with, so we're heavily invested in
some of the activity that's have going down which Hole
and Balemouth. It's the only deep water port on the Cape,
and we've got Noah down there as well as WHOI
and doing biological labs and Woodwell and organizations like that.
(13:11):
But they're all heavily dependent on federal research brands. So
there's there's a little bit of trepidation down there as
we look at the year round economy, but we can
continue to see growth on the travel and tourism side.
In twenty twenty three, Cape got two point seven billion
dollars in a visitor spend and was responsible for over
fourteen thousand jobs and so and we're still seeing hotels
(13:34):
that are more interested now some flags are more interested
where in decades past they've been a little bit shy
about more seasonal locations. So we're continuing to see investment.
Some of that off Cape ownership in the accommodations have
resulted in twenty to fifteen million dollar investments in some
(13:54):
of our hotels, So we're seeing growth there, and we're
continue to see growth in the year round ecomedy session
in the upper and and Mid Cape. But we were
keeping an eye on what's happening in Woodstoll, right, And.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
The final question is always the fun one, Paul, you
know what did the neds wikis? What did you do
over the fourth of July? What's your favorite summer activity
there on Cape Cod?
Speaker 4 (14:17):
You know they are, They're all great, but they have.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
To say.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
I heard right, they are all great. This year, I
actually my birthdays coming up, so I had takens to
see James Taylor Tanglewood. So I actually went to the
first year.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
For Oh my, my My, I left Cape Cod.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
I did for for two days. We left and I
got to experience a lot of traffic going off on
Wednesday and coming back on Saturday. So it was kind
of research.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
For There you go, There you go. That's a show
worth it, isn't it? Ball wasn't that great?
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Oh it was great.
Speaker 6 (15:02):
Great.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
It was a business expense. But that's what you're saying.
He's Paul edge WICKI he's the CEO of the Cave
Cod Chamber of Commerce. He's a regular visit of the program.
I appreciate him taking a time this morning on the
New England Business Report. Okay, over the next thirty minutes
we're gonna be talking about affordable housing in New England.
Stay with us.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
You are listening to the New England Business Report on
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Kim will be right back.
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Speaker 2 (17:47):
Hi, everybody, I'm Kim Kerrigan.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
And I'm Joe Shortsley. If you want to be part
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Speaker 3 (18:00):
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Speaker 2 (18:15):
You know, Joe, housing is an extremely important issue here
in New England, and certainly it's important to our economy.
The region faces a significant housing shortage with high costs
that are impacting businesses and residents and overall the economy.
As I mentioned, and now the shortage is hindering economic
growth by making it really difficult to attract and retain workers. Joe,
(18:37):
you and I've been talking about this for such a
long time, and that's the reason that we decided it
was such an important issue that we wanted to highlight
some organizations in the area that are working to solve
this problem. Rnda Peroni is the CEO of the nonprofit
Hearth Inc. It's a group that's working to eliminate homelessness
for the elderly in the area. DA it's great to
(18:59):
have with us. Tell us a little bit more about
hearth Ink.
Speaker 9 (19:04):
Absolutely, thank you so much. Heart has been in Boston
since nineteen ninety one. Really interesting founded by seven women
and these women had worked in the medical field and
they were noticing more older adults falling into homelessness and
they found out with the older adults us in the
(19:26):
emergency room as a safe haven. So that's where they
got together to create this organization that's focused on helping
to house elders the term used at that time, which
now we refer to as older adults. And we've expanded
our program to not just housing because as you just mentioned,
(19:47):
it's very difficult to find housing to create new housing
in the Boston area. So we have two hundred and
twenty eight units of housing for formerly homeless elders. And
what we we also focus on as outreach efforts and
prevention of efforts all with older adults. So we have
an outreach staff that goes into the shelters in Boston
(20:11):
and works with the individuals to help them become housing
ready and to find housing. And what used to do
I want to say, maybe two years ago, what used
to take six months to find somebody housing takes nine
to twelve and now we're running into eighteen months to
find adequate affordable housing.
Speaker 10 (20:28):
Now.
Speaker 9 (20:29):
A prevention side which we find is the growing need
is preventing older adults from becoming homeless. And these are
people that have never faced homelessness, may be retired on
a fixed income, not keeping pace with the cost of living,
house maybe in disrepair, can't afford to do that for
(20:52):
numerous reasons, and now we're at risk of becoming homeless.
And we work with them to help them find ways
to in their home and even to the point that
we use our funds that we raised to help pay
a bill or help pay for repair something that will
keep them in their home.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Ronda Vroni is our guest, he is the CEO of
Heart and tell us how do where how does their
financing work? I mean, where do you where do you
get your funding from? In order to reach out and
do what you do.
Speaker 9 (21:23):
Our funding is one hundred percent through on our prevention program.
It's raised one hundred percent by donations, grants, foundations, and
this we've just been focusing on the last several years
because the need has been from to prevent more people
from entering homelessness.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Well, tell me about that. How do you reach out?
I mean, what what does it look like when I'm
a company and I hear from you? What does it
you say or do?
Speaker 9 (21:50):
So we have we have been in the community in
Boston for over thirty years. So we have a network
of with the hospitals, with the community health centers, aging centers,
and we are made aware and a lot of people
reach out to us directly for assistance. What they'll say is,
you know, I think I'm going to lose my home.
(22:11):
I wasn't able to pay my tax bill, or I
can't pay my mortgage, or food or maybe baby. They
just can't afford food, and they come to us. So
that's how the process begins, and it's just developing that
relationship with them, and then it's us finding the resources
to help to prevent them from being on the streets.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Obviously, housing in this state is extremely expensive, and it's
a problem for a lot of people. Do you feel
like this older population is being ignored by you know,
governmental decisions to keep them in their homes.
Speaker 9 (22:50):
Yes, I think we're either ignored or ill prepared. Right,
So same thing. I guess I'm saying, no one thought
that this population we're talking to baby boom as all
of a sudden we have what is being referred to
as the Great tsunami. Everyone is aging at the same time,
a large percentage of the population, their homes or apartments
(23:13):
that they live in, aren't prepared for them to age,
aren't adapted to their needs. So yes, it's definitely something
that hasn't been thought of. So therefore, and I think,
you know, people are putting blinders out of the government
is not paying attention to that great.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Need you mentioned. You have a list of people who
are contacting you. We'll talk to us about that greater
need here. How big is the need?
Speaker 9 (23:37):
So just last year and this is only the capacity
that we were able to handle with our staff and funds,
we helped one hundred and nineteen people prevent them from
becoming homeless, just in Boston. And we you know, we
study what does this cost us because we need to
raise money to do this. It cost us just sixteen
(23:59):
hundred twenty dollars per person. I say just times that
by the one hundred and nineteen reserved. But if we
look at it, and this is the appeal that we
have to the government, to the funders donors, it costs
less than two thousand dollars to keep somebody in their
home on average. And there was also a study not
(24:19):
only I can tell you from exactly what we did
last year, but there was a study in Santa Clara County,
California three to four years ago that found it cost
them two thousand dollars per person to keep somebody off
the streets.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Lots of data that proves that this can be as
an issue that can be resolved. And we want to
thank you so much for joining us here on the
New England Business Report. All right, so, Joe, we've seen
one sector of our community that is obviously having problems
staying in their homes thanks to high costs here in
the New England area. When we come back an organization
trying to improve the housing crisis for those who are
(24:57):
living with disabilities, Kim and.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Joe will explore more business news that impacts our New
England economy when they return.
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Are you a brother or sister of one of Greater
Boston's local trade unions and finally thinking about getting ready
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working your tailoff? Congratulations, you worked hard to build your retirement.
Nest egg but now what Let me help you break
through the nonsense and financial speak so we can get
to the questions that are important to you. As you know,
nothing gets built without a set of plans, and neither
(26:35):
will your financial future. My name is Mike Marshall, President
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Marshall Plan, a comprehensive customized plan that will help you
answer important questions in all seven key areas. You don't
have to do it alone. There is no cost or obligation.
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(26:55):
That's eight five seven three four two ten thirty. Well
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Speaker 8 (27:05):
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fin SIPC, Lincoln Investment dot Com, Marshal Wealth Management and
the above firms are independent and not affiliated.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
And welcome back to the New England Business Support on
this Sunday morning, July the thirteenth, and this is the
spot in the program where we talk about other business
news that may or may not you may or may
not be aware of it. And this happened yesterday, Kim. Now,
I know we've talked about this in the past, and
if we're talking about our good old friend who's passed away,
Mayor Tom and Nino, and yesterday in South Boston, it
(27:40):
finally happened. The Menino Center. It is now known as
it was Boston's Convention and Exhibition Center, but it has
a new name in honor of the late mayor because
you know, it's funny, at the time it was happening
and at the time he was in office, you didn't
realize what a tug of war that was going on
with that piece of land was basically you know, parking
(28:03):
lots and warehouses. But you know, when you think back
in you remember, yeah, remember the headlines, because I'm looking
at a Shirley Lenge column here in the Boston Globe
and basically she writes how it was a bold move
because Manina was a political underdog back then, locked in
a fight of the ages against then Governor Bill Weld
(28:24):
and the Winglam Patriots owner Bob Kraft, because they wanted
to build a stadium there.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Right, that's right, They wanted to move the stadium up here,
and he believed that it was a great gateway to
what is now the seaport and bringing more businesses over
that direction. And in the end, I'm going to argue
that he was right, you know, that he made all
the right moves. And I remember when that was all
(28:49):
going on, because the big fight about that was, you know,
we already have a convention center, and that convention center
which still exists, of course in the back bay, but
it's so small it never would allow the kind of
growth and expansion when it comes to that kind of
business in the city. So and I think it's a
great Instead of a statue, this is a wonderful way
to honor his legacy.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
Yeah, because I can remember him at the time thinking, oh,
you know, Menino is not going to win this battle.
You know, he's you know, the Craft are going to
come build that stagem. But you know what he won,
And I think you're right, Kim, he was right.
Speaker 9 (29:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Well, people living with disabilities are facing a whole lot
of challenges, not the least of which is finding affordable
housing that can help them live independently. That's changing for
some residents in Maine thanks to an organization that's called
three I Home. Its founder and president, Paul Lynette, is
joining us at this hour, and it's great to have
(29:44):
Paul with us. Paul, why don't you start by talking
about exactly what three EYE Home is doing.
Speaker 5 (29:51):
Great to be with you. Three I Housing of Maine,
also known as three I Home, is promoting independent living
options for people with disability through innovative smart home technology
in an integrated home and community based setting. So what
this really is is breaking of the paradigm that oftentimes
(30:16):
needlessly institutionalizes people who need assistance with activities of daily living.
And we're doing that in a number of different models
here in name.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
All right, give us us for instance there, Paul, I mean,
what are you talking about when you talk about tech
enabled housing?
Speaker 5 (30:31):
Well, this is actually born from a lived experience that
I have When my wife and I were in the
Greater Boston area, and that was some decades ago, and
I can recall my wife, who was a pediatrician having
difficulty with her balance. We touch base with some of
(30:54):
the top neurologists around and I remember being pulled aside
by one of those folks who said, a person who
presents with your wife's condition is oftentimes institutionalized. And the
fact of the matter is that over the course of
twenty five years of disabling disease, Susan was an active
(31:16):
participant in the community and live life on her own term.
We were fortunate, but there are seven in Maine. There
are thousands of people and nationwide millions of people who
don't have the wherewithal to obtain accessible housing. So our
models are twofold. One. We're building a totally universal design
(31:43):
apartment complex in southern Maine in the suburbs of Portland.
That's fifty one units of one, two and three bedroom
apartments outfitted to meet the needs of each of the
households with their particular challenges through a system and smart
home features. And that program has gotten such a wide
(32:09):
range of reception that people in rural areas of Mayne
are saying, well, what about our location. We need this
to age in place, And because of the needs that
we have here for both affordable and accessible housing, that
has spawned our Caring Communities concept, which is a neighborhood model.
(32:36):
A family and rural Maine came to us and said,
we have a loved one. He's a young adult. He
has a disability, and we would like to make sure
that he's stably housed when we're no longer able to
care for him. So we're in the process of developing
individual tiny homes around a caring community concept. I think
(33:00):
this can be replicable across not only Maine, but also
throughout New Inlands.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
Paul and Ed is our guest. He is the founder
and president of three I Home. Paul, We've been talking
all morning about the affordability issue related to housing in
New England. Obviously, these kinds of homes can be extremely
expensive for anyone, but those who are living with disabilities,
this must be a real challenge.
Speaker 5 (33:29):
We're at the crossroads of a number of public policy
matters that are really pressing, not only here in Maine,
but throughout the country. We have the affordable housing concern,
we have accepsible housing, as I just outlined, and we
have an acute direct care workforce shortage throughout the United States.
(33:54):
Recent study by the Commonwealth Fund said that over the
next ten years, we need to find a million more
people who will do direct care work so that folks
can live in the community as active participants. And so
one of our models is to provide a stipend for
(34:15):
direct care workers who quite frankly, are undervalued and could
be making more money by closing down a fast food
restaurant than they could if they were to stay in
the profession, and that would be a model that would
retain the family unit and maintain this essential care workforce
(34:37):
that quite frankly, is a drain on forty million Americans
who are not doing their chosen profession because they also
are working to care for family members. So we think
that this is the time to have a broad conversation
about what it means as the aging baby rumors, they're accessible,
(35:02):
housing requirements increase and we have pressures on rural hospitals
to maintain a workforce. Blending those issues together in a
thoughtful way is actually part of our future plans. Recalling
about twenty five years ago when I was involved in
convening a national Family Caregivers Summit that was held at
(35:26):
the JFK Library in Dorchester. We want to renew those
conversations and preliminary discussions are underway to have a new
England wide summit to bring more lights to the accessible,
affordable housing challenges that exist throughout the region.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
All Right, Paul, Well, interesting fascinating work that you're doing,
and we thank you so much for sharing this information
with us here on the New England Business Report.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
All right, Kim, I'm going to continue this conversation about
affordable housing here in New England. I mean, it shows everywhere.
I mean, and I don't care where you are or
what you're talking about it when he talks about affordable housing.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
It's been a fascinating conversation.
Speaker 3 (36:06):
Joe. Yeah're glad we're having it. Yeah, and you talk
about it down on Cape Cod. I mean, you know,
this is an interesting story here, a business story, and
it has to do with a company called a Broadway
Capital and its owner, Mike Veno. And basically Broadway Capital
is there in Chelsea right now, among other places. But
(36:27):
Broadway Capital is developing workforce and mixed income housing in
this new project in Chelsea. But here here's the thing
that caught our attention. He's doing it using a bitcoin
reserve fund to help fund a finance affordability and it's
one of the first of the kind of the country.
We want to welcome Mike to the program. So Mike
tell us about Broadway Capital.
Speaker 10 (36:48):
Yeah, Broadway Capital has been around for about ten years now,
and we're based out of Chelsea and we do, you know,
residential development. That's our primary focus. We own about one
hundred and fifty residential units in the north shore of Massachusetts.
And yeah, we have about twenty employees.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
So talk about this issue of using bitcoin, you know,
as a back er if you will, for these projects
that you're doing. My understanding is that you're one of
the only in the nation that's doing this.
Speaker 10 (37:21):
Yeah, I mean, we got into cryptocurrency a few years back.
It peaked our interest and we did a lot of
research on it internally within our business, and what we
decided to do was create a bitcoin reserve, a strategic reserve,
and right now we're using that bitcoin reserve as liquidity
to support you know a number of our projects, whether
(37:42):
it be for financing support or bonding support where we
need to get a construction bond. We have this liquidity,
which is in bitcoin. That's a deflationary asset that we
store and we use it as like kind of a
store of value in order to support our development. And
lenders look at this and see this on our balance
(38:02):
sheet and it helps us secure loans and also secure
bonds for construction projects. So right now we're piloting the
program at one fifty William Street and Chelsea, which is
a twenty unit residential development and it's one hundred percent affordable.
It's supported by MATH Housing and MHIC which is the lender.
(38:23):
And this is really our first project and as far
as we know, the first in the nation's that's using
this Bitcoin reserve as the liquidity source to support affordable
housing development projects.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Mike, as it relates to that project there in Chelsea,
what does affordable housing I mean? What does affordable mean
in that context?
Speaker 10 (38:42):
So affordable in our cases, we have units ranging for
sixty percent to one hundred percent of the area mean income,
which is AMI. And so in order to qualify to
buy one of our condominium units, because there's twenty of
them total, you have to fall somewhere in that range
of sixty to one hundred percent of the area mean income.
(39:05):
That is the definition in our project of affordable. So
people for example, that would fall into that category would
be municipal workers in some cases that fall into that
income range. And it really depends too on your family size,
so that income range fluctuates depending on how big your
family is. So that's the definition of affordable on this project.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
So affordable housing obviously is a huge issue here in
the Boston area, and you're talking about for municipal workers,
and that's been an issue for different portions of the
workforce looking for places to live. What's the benefit We
understand what the benefit is for all of them. What's
the benefit for you as a builder?
Speaker 10 (39:50):
Well, I think it's definitely to support the community that
we operate in, which is Chelsea. Chelsea, as you know,
it's a sanctuary city and a lot of people, I mean,
it's it's eighty percent rental right now. And what we're
trying to do with these type of developments is give
residents the opportunity to have their own home, to actually
(40:10):
own a you know, a real estate asset that's going
to appreciate.
Speaker 4 (40:14):
In value over time.
Speaker 10 (40:16):
And I think that really benefits the city. But at
the same time, it benefits us because we're you know,
doing the construction, the development, and also the sales on
the back end of the project. So it's really a
win win situation for both Broadway Capital, the city of Chelsea,
and the state of Massachusetts in this case.
Speaker 3 (40:34):
Well, Mike, how how do families or individuals find you
and what is the need there.
Speaker 10 (40:40):
You know, We've done a number of these affordable developments
in the past, and in many cases we get ten
to twenty times the amount of applicants for these affordable
units than we actually have available. So in this example,
at one fifty Williams, where we have twenty affordable units,
would be anticipating getting between you know, one hundred and
fifty in two hundred and fifty applicants that are interested
(41:02):
in these twenty units. So there's a super high demand
for these affordable units, you know, throughout the Commonwealth, but
especially in areas that are close to Boston where a
lot of the jobs are. So this is really where
where the opportunity is.
Speaker 2 (41:17):
So Mike tell us why there's not more of these
kinds of projects going in. I mean, I think I
might know some of the answers, but I'd like to
hear it from your.
Speaker 11 (41:25):
Point of view.
Speaker 10 (41:25):
Yeah, right now, the economic climate is you know, is
challenging because interest rates are high and lending is pretty
tight for these these type of development deals.
Speaker 5 (41:36):
But I think if.
Speaker 10 (41:37):
Interest rates come down a bit, you know, in the
next six months to a year, which we expect they would.
I think this environment could change pretty quickly where it
would be easier for developers to get loans and the
economics of the project would make more sense with lower
interest rates. In our case, you know, we rarely rely
heavily on state subsidies to support the development of these
(41:59):
projects through the Mass Housing Commonwealth Build a program.
Speaker 3 (42:02):
Heaving, do you have another project in the works at
this point after this one is sold out?
Speaker 10 (42:08):
We do have one that we're finishing up now, which
is seventy two units, which is in Reverare. It's located
at one thirty three Salem Street, and that that's actually underway,
and we're looking at another potentially one hundred and twenty
unit development in Chelsea that's still in the early stages
of development, or that those units would be affordable as well.
Speaker 3 (42:27):
You have a website or how do folks find you?
Speaker 10 (42:29):
Yeah, our website Broadwaycapital dot com. That's one way. And
as again, we're going to be you know, pushing our
bitcoin reserve, where we're trying to set up an entity
where you know, potentially outsiders could invest, accredited investors could
invest in our in our strategic reserve, which would help
(42:50):
support and fund future affordable development projects.
Speaker 3 (42:55):
Wonderful? All right, well, good luck you Mike Bano. He's
the owner of a Broadway capital there and please keep
us up to date on your progress. Up next for
n' be talking with the executive editor of the Boston
Business Journal, one Doug Banks.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
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Speaker 3 (46:15):
And welcome back to The New England Business report on
This sunday. Morning we can't leave without checking in with
the executive editor of The Boston Business. Journal that'd be
One Doug, banks regular visitor to our program here and
as you know when you read THE bbj and you go,
Online doug every day is publishing the five things you
need to know today about business In New. England, well
(46:38):
we kind of break that down into the five things
you need to know this, week And doug's here to
share with us the headlines that he selected for us this, Week,
doug thanks for joining.
Speaker 11 (46:46):
Us thanks so much for having, Me joe And.
Speaker 3 (46:48):
Kim All, right we got a couple interesting, headlines contradictory.
Headlines let's start with The boston, headline a story written
By Grant welker promising Signs boston office vacancy rates, down
absorption HiT's a. High that's good, news. Right.
Speaker 12 (47:08):
Yeah, so as we all, know because we've talked about
it almost NonStop for the past five years SINCE, covid
there's been less need for downtown office space because people
are working from. Home and yet even as companies are
asking workers to come back to the, office you, know
the economy is what it. Is with tariffs and, everything
(47:29):
companies have slowed their. Hiring so companies just don't need
as much office. Space downtown vacancies have been have been
a real problem in cities obviously all across the, country
and so because employers want smaller, spaces they want more,
amenities and workers want to be able to work from
home at least a couple of days a. Week so
(47:49):
this past week we had a new report From jlls
real estate firm here In boston that showed two promising,
signs as you, mentioned one was office vacancy rates are down.
Speaker 11 (48:01):
For the fourth straight.
Speaker 12 (48:02):
Quarter so we've had four straight quarters of vacancy rates
not getting, bigger but getting. Smaller that's a good. Sign
and then we have what's called net. Absorption it's the
pace of new occupancy in office.
Speaker 11 (48:15):
Space net. Absorption it's basically.
Speaker 12 (48:17):
That rate at which we're absorbing the vacant or available
space that's on the. Market that absorption is at its
highest point since PRE, covid since twenty. Nineteen, now obviously
because there's more space that's, available you're going to, see you,
know rate is going to be a little bit higher
as it's coming. Back but the fact, is whenever you're
adding in filling office, space that's a good sign as.
(48:39):
Well so jll's data showed that we vacancy rate is
now twenty one point one percent in the city twenty
two point nine percent in the metro, area which let's be,
clear that's still double what it was pre. PANDEMIC i,
mean you, know the office vacancy rate was around ten
percent or, less you, know over five years. Ago so
it's not you, know we're not. Great there's still a
(49:00):
lot of vacancies out. There there's tons of lab space
that has gone. Unfilled but that's you, know we're we're
getting there at least it's not getting. Worse and then
on the absorption, side you're seeing news like you guys have,
reported we've all reported On lego moving its headquarters here
that took up one hundred and sixty thousand square feet
(49:21):
of space. Downtown the tech Company, claveo they make marketing software.
Speaker 11 (49:25):
Technology they added a quarter.
Speaker 12 (49:26):
Of a million, space quarter of a million square feet
of space at one twenty Five Summer street this past
year or. So so you're seeing some big investments in
companies Downtown, boston which again brings in some of the absorption.
Speaker 11 (49:43):
Rate and it's and it's good.
Speaker 2 (49:44):
News, absolutely it's great, news great news for those. Businesses
it's great news for all the smaller businesses around them
that need them for. Support the flip side of, this,
though is that you, know we're moving a lot, quicker
it seems than, nationally which is kind of.
Speaker 12 (49:58):
Crazy, yes so it's so funny the story we posted that.
Day earlier this, week our national team posted a similar
story and the headline was not so. Rosy, basically THE
Us office vacancy rates hit a new record, high so
office vacancy at a national level hit another high in
the second. Quarter now that, again the percentage of office
(50:21):
vacancies nationally is twenty point six, percent so it's actually
better Then. Boston's But boston is certainly not great for our.
Vacancies but the difference is, nationally when you look across the,
country the trend is that it will continue to, Rise
so that, number even As boston is holding and starting
to shrink, it the number nationally is still rising and
(50:42):
is expected to rise according To.
Speaker 11 (50:43):
Moody's this was A moody's report that was.
Speaker 12 (50:45):
Reported it will rise for the next couple of quarters
until PROBABLY q ONE q two of twenty twenty, six
and then again same. Issues companies nationally are really loath
to start. Hiring they don't know what's going to happen
with the. Economy the economy is completely rocky and, unpredictable
and companies are not going to just you, know take up.
Speaker 11 (51:07):
Space and lease.
Speaker 12 (51:08):
Rates tend to be ten year, leases, Right so what
we're seeing in twenty twenty five is the completion of
rates of leases lease terms that were started in twenty.
Fifteen in twenty sixteen and twenty, seventeen when you know
things were going great and companies had taken a lot of.
Space so those are coming to completion and companies are, Saying,
(51:29):
okay we need to renew a. Lease we're certainly not
going to take the space that we. Have we're going
to be looking for less and we're looking for newer.
Buildings we're looking for more. Amenities we want to attract
our workers to come, downtown.
Speaker 11 (51:41):
But we just don't need the space that we needed.
Before so that's where you're getting all this empty space
hitting the.
Speaker 3 (51:45):
Markets Dog, banks executive editor of The Boston Business, journals
our guests in that national story talking about vacancy rates
hitting a new record, high they did single out the
four areas or four cities where you know they were
bucking that, trend And, baston as we all, know and
according to your, headline is one of. Them and so
you Had, Seattle, Boston, chicago and Suburban. Virginia we're actually
(52:10):
going the positive. Direction. Uh But i'm, Curious, doug when
you see those four, cities is there a common theme?
THERE i, mean what's happening that those guys are bucking the?
Speaker 12 (52:20):
Trend those four Cities joe are all tech tech. Cities
so you See seattle of course with you, Know amazon And.
Microsoft you Have chicago has a you, know pretty big
sized tech. Sector in Suburban, virginia they're looking at mostly
The Dulles, corridor which is a lot of federal, contractors
a lot of tech. Companies, now so those companies in
(52:42):
a lot of cases are doing exactly WHAT i just, said,
Right they're adding, amenities they're bringing people. Back they need
to have people in the, office and and they had
a lot of remote work and now they're starting to
bring people. Back so so you're seeing some small absorption
coming in that the number there was a quarterly numbers
was a little bit different than what we looked, at
(53:04):
which was twelve months. Trailing but the fact is it's
all going up and, down up and. DOWN i, mean
we're we're now hitting this sort of bumpy patterns and
all the data and so we could very next quarter
we could very well be talking About, boston you, know spiking,
again and we just don't. Know so it's a positive
sign at the. Moment we just don't know where things
(53:24):
are going to go in the next. Quarter but in the,
Meantime it's always heartening to see That boston is doing
better than most piers across the. Country we like to see,
that especially because you, know we have some we have
so many industries here that are you, know that are
getting hit with this office back to work.
Speaker 2 (53:43):
Issue let's talk about another story that you were pointing.
Out that's the issue of international travelers coming Through Logan.
Airport you, KNOW i think that the we all thought
that there were a lot of international, flights but now
we have this fabulous new terminal that really is making
a difference as, well and it feels like to me
(54:03):
they're trying to compete maybe with the you know JFKs
of the. World if you come this, way you don't
have to stop In New.
Speaker 11 (54:10):
York that's exactly, Right.
Speaker 12 (54:12):
Kim you, know we got the new mass PORT, Ceo Rich,
davey whom we all have talked, about and we all
know he's on the record saying that he's hoping That
logan will be a top three to five what they
call mega. Airports so there's twenty similar sized airports that
are considered the mega airports IN jfk of course as
one of, them and you know D c In La San, Francisco,
(54:33):
chicago et, cetera et. Cetera right, Now boston is tenth
out of. Twenty he's saying he's putting on the record
he wants to be in top three to five in
THE us and in order to do, THAT i, mean
that's an ambitious, goal. Right that's there's a lot of
cities that are investing in, states investing in their. Airports
boston doesn't have a lot of space to.
Speaker 11 (54:54):
Add it's not like.
Speaker 12 (54:55):
You can go into the, ocean, RIGHT i, mean we're.
Landlocked you got the city on, ones you go the
ocean on The So massport can't exactly just build a new.
Terminal and so his focus is to add more international
travel by adding more trips with a lot of the
carriers that are already. Here now they've definitely added new.
Carriers we've talked about, that but he's trying, to you,
(55:17):
know grow sort of organically with the carriers that they,
have the airlines they, have and they're going to be
conducting their first strategic plan in over a, decade so
we'll see where that. Goes and in the, meantime they're
going to just continue to try to add new routes
and try to stuff them into the terminals where they
have them now and have those airlines jockey for. Position
but it'll be really interesting to see when you think, about,
(55:41):
like you, know parts Of, Asia, india you, Know. China
we don't have a lot of flights To, china and you,
know we can get To europe really easily from.
Speaker 11 (55:51):
Here china And asia not so.
Speaker 12 (55:54):
Much so it's going to be interesting to see both
from a global economic, standpoint what, countries you, know where
do people want to go and where do business people
need to? Go and then you know Where boston can
fit into that.
Speaker 11 (56:06):
Plan so it's it's going to be.
Speaker 12 (56:07):
Interesting BUT i love That Rich davey wants to do
that and he's you, know he's he's trying to Put
boston on the map literally and, figuratively AND i think
THAT'S i think that's great for.
Speaker 3 (56:17):
Us it's good, stuff all. Right He's Doug. Banks he's
the executive editor of The Boston Business. Journal we do
appreciate you taking time and joining us This sunday. Morning
i'm In New England Business.
Speaker 2 (56:26):
Report, Well, joe that's going to do it for this week's.
Show and what a great. SHOW i think this one
has Been we hope everybody can join us again Next
sunday when we have a discussion ABOUT ai and its
impact on Rural massachusetts and for that, matter just Rural New.
England you, KNOW ai is you, know taking over the,
(56:46):
world and it has a lot of positive things going.
On but is Rural america getting the kind of help
and exposure TO ai that it. Should so we'll have
an expert on to talk to us a little bit
more about that business impact coming up Next sunday right
here in The New England Business report at eight, am
right here on The voice Of boston W RKO am
(57:08):
six eighty
This is the New England Business Report with Joe short
Sleeve and Kim Carrigan, a weekly roundup and discussion of
the top business news impacting our New England economy.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the New England Business
Report on this Sunday morning. These July the thirteenth, my goodness,
were already at the middle of the month. That's hard
to believe, Joe, along with Joe short sleep and the
fourth of July certainly in the rear view mirror. And
that's hard to believe, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Yeah, we are racing through summer, no doubt about it.
But I can tell you, Kim, I was down the
Cape over the fourth of July, and I mean one
quick story. I pulled onto Craigville Beach Road on the
actual fourth and now I know this is you know,
some nine days ago at this point, but I'd never
seen anything like it. Traffic was backed up, Wow, both directions.
(00:51):
They had police at the town beach and the public
beach waving people away. Was not saying we're at capacity.
We're at capacity, I mean, isn't it was? It was really,
you know, something to be seen. I mean, uh, And
then you know I also track you know, traffic, because
I'm not in it.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
This time, right, finally, right, not in it.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
But it was like, you know, it was three hours.
It was three hours to Metro West, which is it
should be half that?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yeah, that that's really tough. Well, we're going to find
out just how great the fourth of July weekend was
for the Cape because we're going to talk to the
president of the Cape Town Chamber of Commerce, Paul Ned's wiki.
He's going to be our guest, so we'll chat with
him about why he thinks this was such a banner
year there on the Cape. You know, the combination of
good weather and the fact that it was on a Friday.
(01:40):
My daughter said, I'm going to be president someday. In
the first declaration, I'm going to make it's no longer
the fourth it's the first Friday of every July. I said, well,
all right, you got my vote.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
It's like Halloween has got to be, you know, the
last Saturday in October. But trading you got.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
It exactly after mister Nedswiki. We're going to talk about
a really important issue in this region, and that's housing
and the impact that the lack of affordable housing for
all different members of our community is having on the
New England economy. So we decided that we would look
at three different organizations that are working to improve this situation.
(02:19):
We're going to start with Ronda Peroni. She is the
CEO of Hearth Inc. Now, that's a nonprofit that's working
to increase housing for the elderly, a group that's frequently
forgotten when it comes to housing issues. And Joe, we're
going to talk to some other experts.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Yeah, we are. We're going to be talking with Paul Lennette. Now,
he's the founder of a company called three I Home. Now,
they technically aren't here in Massachusetts, they're in the state
of Maine, but they are considered an example to all
about what is coming up. Three iHome is pioneering universally designed,
(02:58):
tech enabled housing to serve people with disabilities and aging residents.
And Paul and Nett will tell us how he thinks
that proves affordability and accessibility can and should coexist. And
then we're going to be talking with a gentleman by
the name of Mike Venot. Mike's company is Broadway Capital
(03:19):
h and he's developing housing in Chelsea, Okay, and it's
for the workforce and mixed income. But the interesting thing
about this project in Chelsea that he's working on is
he's using bitcoin and his partner there they're using their
Bitcoin Reserve fund to help finance affordability and is considered
(03:41):
to be one of the first of the kind in
the country. So anyway, three different platforms right as they
relate to affordable housing. We're going to touch upon this
morning here on the New England Business Support. And then
we have, as usual, the executive editor of the Boston
Business Journal, one of Doug Banks. And Doug will be
along a number of headlines and some of them contradictory.
(04:05):
One headline is this one in Boston promising signs Boston
office vacancy rates down, absorption hits a high. I'm like,
oh okay, so Boston's looking better. And then the next
story right behind it, Kim the national headline national office
vacancy rate hits new record high, meaning that there's more
(04:29):
open space and the Boston that space is being picked up.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
So maybe we're doing something right here, Joe, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
I don't. I don't know, but exactly, so we're going
to be talking about that, and then we're also going
to be talking about what's going on at Logan Airport,
and in terms of Rich Davy, he's the new CEO
of Massport. And you know, I didn't realize. I mean,
I always thought that their focus was on the international traveler,
but they are refocusing on that and trying to make
(04:55):
what they just call Logan Airport, you know, an international hub. Yeah,
so that's a hearing a lot more about it.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
They want to compete more with New York than what
we are currently and.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Kim, we've been talking about it already this morning. But
you know, I can't get over the Fourth of July
on Cape Cod in terms of the crowds, and it
was really, you know, something I've never really seen. But
I think it was a combination of things, like the
weather all came together and the fourth was on a Friday,
you know, so it all helped. Anyway, let's bring in
the CEO the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, a regular
(05:30):
visitor of the program, Paul nids Wiki, Paul, welcome, and
it seemed like a big success so far as we
kick off the summer of twenty twenty five. But give
us the you know, what your perspective is and the
data points you're looking at.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
Yeah, I know, the fourth this year was big. We
had a lot of people here. We also had a
lot of people two weeks prior, as the Juneteenth Holiday
fell on a Thursday, so a lot of people took
Friday off. So we've had two really big, big weekends
to kick this off. But the fourth, there are a
lot of people down here, and I think you're right, Joe,
(06:05):
it's a convergence of sort of issues. Sometimes you get
amnesia in the fourth falls on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday,
a little bit more problematic for people. But when it's
on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, we see big crowds.
And just looking at some of the traffic data and
the trips over the Sagamore and the Bourne bridges, there's
(06:25):
a lot of two way traffic on the fourth. So
it suggests that the weather was good, sport was on
a Friday, and a lot of people made day trips
down over the weekend.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Well, it was a pretty tough spring because you know,
I don't remember exactly the number, but I'm going to
say there were between twelve and fourteen weekends in a
row that it rained. So I didn't want to say
the exact it was fourteen, but who's county. But anyway,
do you think this helped to make up some of that?
Speaker 4 (06:59):
I think there was a lot of pent up demand
for a nice sunny day in Cape cut Beaches. Yeah,
so I think that that did draw a lot of
people down. But occupancy, even through the rainy Saturdays Spring
occupancy and a lot of the traditional lodging or the hotels,
motels and short term rentals was pretty much where we
(07:20):
were last year. So we didn't see a gift in
occupancy at all. But I think it was just pent
up demand. And you know, the Cape is a great
place to celebrate, especially a holiday like the Fourth of July, you.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Know, not to you know, make fun of situations where
people are in pain in their car and traffic. But
at the same time, I was watching the bridge times
and how long it took to get Metro West Boston
from Cape Cod and watching it on the Sunday and
the Monday and even in the Tuesday, and it was
always like three hours. I just again, I just really
(07:56):
hadn't seen anything like that in my lifetime.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
No, the backups were pretty significant over the fourth you know,
the traffic over the bridge is generally the traffic on
Cape is split about fifty percent Onborne Bridge ty percent
on the Sagamore, but the traffic off Cape is weighed
heavily more heavily like sixty forty to Sagamore, so Sagamore itself.
(08:21):
You know, one of the reasons we need to replace
the bridges is because they're functionally obsolete, so they are
a little bottleneck. The approaches on either side of both
bridges can handle a lot more traffic than the bridges itself,
and that exit one on ramp in front of the
former Christmas Tree shop really sort of backs things up
when people are trying to leave the Cape. Then the
(08:41):
scenic highway itself becomes the conflict between those people trying
to leave the Cape and those people trying to come on.
So I think the good news long term is that
the bridge replacement project is going to fix a lot
of those issues. So they'll still be traffic, they'll still
be away time, but it shouldn't be three hours for Metro.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
West, which is certainly good news for a lot of people. Paul,
Let's talk a little bit about the businesses down there.
For the longest time after COVID, you know, a lot
of businesses had to stay closed for a few days
a week because it was so tough to get employees.
And now we're facing all these issues related to housing
and so on and so forth. How are businesses doing now?
(09:21):
Are they able to be open seven days a week
and what are they doing about employees?
Speaker 5 (09:28):
Yeah, for the.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
Most part, we've seen businesses return to a normal kind
of operational schedule. A lot of the businesses during the
pandemic and during some of the work workforce shortages that
were part of that sort of time period, they've adapted
their business practices so they can run a little bit later.
But you know, on the Cave, we're heavily reliant on
(09:51):
form born workers to support their regional economy. Happened for decades.
Heavily reliant on this J one program, which is a
culture exchange program and the H two B that program
through the J one'es are through the State Department. Hdps
are through the Department of Labor. And we did have
an issue during the pandemic obviously, and then after the
sponsoring agencies of these students that came here to work
(10:13):
were requiring housing, which became even more difficult after the
pandemic to provide, so we dropped from about five thousand
J one students and there's only one hundred thousand of
those permits available nationally. Five thousand of the market cod
we dropped to about half. But we've worked over the
last three years really to build that back. So this
(10:34):
year we had a full compliment. We have a full
compliment of J one students that are out there, so
the labor supply issues to have eased somewhat. It was
also a lot of people transitioned, especially in the restaurant
business after COVID they decided they wanted to try something else.
We're starting to see a lot of these people come
back to the restaurant business.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Paul and Neswicki's our guest. He's the CEO of the
Cape God Chamber of Commerce. I'm curious about membership well
in the Cape Cod Chamber, but also a business count.
I assume you track that as well. Our small businesses.
Is a number of small businesses growing down in the
Cape or are we stagnant? Where are we?
Speaker 4 (11:12):
It is growing. The overall number of businesses continues to
grow on the Cape. We are seeing more consolidation of
certain industry clusters. You know, insurance is one, landscaping is another,
and even on the accommodation side, we've seen some larger
off Cape companies come in and buy multiple properties. So
(11:32):
there's been a change in the character of ownership in
some of these industries. But the number of businesses themselves
continue to increase. And the Cape Cod Chamber last month
officially merged with the FAMAS Chamber. So as a chamber,
we're bigger now about fourteen fifteen hundred numbers. I think
(11:54):
when that's all done, we should make us I believe,
the second largest chamber of the state.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Terrific. Good for you. Well, here we are. It is
mid July and obviously had a really great as you
just said, fourth of July, and in the week before.
What are we anticipating as we move forward? We've got
another six you know, six full weeks of summertime.
Speaker 4 (12:16):
Yeah, no, we you know, in Moral Day is the
unofficial kickoff. Then we have the fourth that's the real sprint.
So you know, I think we're going to be busy
really right through Labor Day. At this point, we'll see
a little bit of a traditional dip in the last
two weeks of August, but the last two weeks of July.
In the first two weeks of August for the Cape
(12:38):
traditionally our busiest season, and we think that's exactly how
it's going to play out for the rest of the summer.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Superul, what's on your desk? What do you see as
the most interesting business development on Cape Cod these days
this summer?
Speaker 4 (12:51):
Well, you know, some of it's not all great news,
but we're we're you know, we have a Blue Economy
Foundation that we work with, so we're heavily invested in
some of the activity that's have going down which Hole
and Balemouth. It's the only deep water port on the Cape,
and we've got Noah down there as well as WHOI
and doing biological labs and Woodwell and organizations like that.
(13:11):
But they're all heavily dependent on federal research brands. So
there's there's a little bit of trepidation down there as
we look at the year round economy, but we can
continue to see growth on the travel and tourism side.
In twenty twenty three, Cape got two point seven billion
dollars in a visitor spend and was responsible for over
fourteen thousand jobs and so and we're still seeing hotels
(13:34):
that are more interested now some flags are more interested
where in decades past they've been a little bit shy
about more seasonal locations. So we're continuing to see investment.
Some of that off Cape ownership in the accommodations have
resulted in twenty to fifteen million dollar investments in some
(13:54):
of our hotels, So we're seeing growth there, and we're
continue to see growth in the year round ecomedy session
in the upper and and Mid Cape. But we were
keeping an eye on what's happening in Woodstoll, right, And.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
The final question is always the fun one, Paul, you
know what did the neds wikis? What did you do
over the fourth of July? What's your favorite summer activity
there on Cape Cod?
Speaker 4 (14:17):
You know they are, They're all great, but they have.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
To say.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
I heard right, they are all great. This year, I
actually my birthdays coming up, so I had takens to
see James Taylor Tanglewood. So I actually went to the
first year.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
For Oh my, my My, I left Cape Cod.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
I did for for two days. We left and I
got to experience a lot of traffic going off on
Wednesday and coming back on Saturday. So it was kind
of research.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
For There you go, There you go. That's a show
worth it, isn't it? Ball wasn't that great?
Speaker 4 (15:00):
Oh it was great.
Speaker 6 (15:02):
Great.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
It was a business expense. But that's what you're saying.
He's Paul edge WICKI he's the CEO of the Cave
Cod Chamber of Commerce. He's a regular visit of the program.
I appreciate him taking a time this morning on the
New England Business Report. Okay, over the next thirty minutes
we're gonna be talking about affordable housing in New England.
Stay with us.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
You are listening to the New England Business Report on
the Voice of Boston w RKO six eighty. Joe and
Kim will be right back.
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Speaker 2 (17:47):
Hi, everybody, I'm Kim Kerrigan.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
And I'm Joe Shortsley. If you want to be part
of the New England Business Report, sponsorships are still available.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
You can email us at any Business Radio at gmail
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Speaker 3 (18:00):
That's any Business Radio all one word at gmail dot
com and we'll get your business on the show too.
Speaker 2 (18:15):
You know, Joe, housing is an extremely important issue here
in New England, and certainly it's important to our economy.
The region faces a significant housing shortage with high costs
that are impacting businesses and residents and overall the economy.
As I mentioned, and now the shortage is hindering economic
growth by making it really difficult to attract and retain workers. Joe,
(18:37):
you and I've been talking about this for such a
long time, and that's the reason that we decided it
was such an important issue that we wanted to highlight
some organizations in the area that are working to solve
this problem. Rnda Peroni is the CEO of the nonprofit
Hearth Inc. It's a group that's working to eliminate homelessness
for the elderly in the area. DA it's great to
(18:59):
have with us. Tell us a little bit more about
hearth Ink.
Speaker 9 (19:04):
Absolutely, thank you so much. Heart has been in Boston
since nineteen ninety one. Really interesting founded by seven women
and these women had worked in the medical field and
they were noticing more older adults falling into homelessness and
they found out with the older adults us in the
(19:26):
emergency room as a safe haven. So that's where they
got together to create this organization that's focused on helping
to house elders the term used at that time, which
now we refer to as older adults. And we've expanded
our program to not just housing because as you just mentioned,
(19:47):
it's very difficult to find housing to create new housing
in the Boston area. So we have two hundred and
twenty eight units of housing for formerly homeless elders. And
what we we also focus on as outreach efforts and
prevention of efforts all with older adults. So we have
an outreach staff that goes into the shelters in Boston
(20:11):
and works with the individuals to help them become housing
ready and to find housing. And what used to do
I want to say, maybe two years ago, what used
to take six months to find somebody housing takes nine
to twelve and now we're running into eighteen months to
find adequate affordable housing.
Speaker 10 (20:28):
Now.
Speaker 9 (20:29):
A prevention side which we find is the growing need
is preventing older adults from becoming homeless. And these are
people that have never faced homelessness, may be retired on
a fixed income, not keeping pace with the cost of living,
house maybe in disrepair, can't afford to do that for
(20:52):
numerous reasons, and now we're at risk of becoming homeless.
And we work with them to help them find ways
to in their home and even to the point that
we use our funds that we raised to help pay
a bill or help pay for repair something that will
keep them in their home.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Ronda Vroni is our guest, he is the CEO of
Heart and tell us how do where how does their
financing work? I mean, where do you where do you
get your funding from? In order to reach out and
do what you do.
Speaker 9 (21:23):
Our funding is one hundred percent through on our prevention program.
It's raised one hundred percent by donations, grants, foundations, and
this we've just been focusing on the last several years
because the need has been from to prevent more people
from entering homelessness.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Well, tell me about that. How do you reach out?
I mean, what what does it look like when I'm
a company and I hear from you? What does it
you say or do?
Speaker 9 (21:50):
So we have we have been in the community in
Boston for over thirty years. So we have a network
of with the hospitals, with the community health centers, aging centers,
and we are made aware and a lot of people
reach out to us directly for assistance. What they'll say is,
you know, I think I'm going to lose my home.
(22:11):
I wasn't able to pay my tax bill, or I
can't pay my mortgage, or food or maybe baby. They
just can't afford food, and they come to us. So
that's how the process begins, and it's just developing that
relationship with them, and then it's us finding the resources
to help to prevent them from being on the streets.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Obviously, housing in this state is extremely expensive, and it's
a problem for a lot of people. Do you feel
like this older population is being ignored by you know,
governmental decisions to keep them in their homes.
Speaker 9 (22:50):
Yes, I think we're either ignored or ill prepared. Right,
So same thing. I guess I'm saying, no one thought
that this population we're talking to baby boom as all
of a sudden we have what is being referred to
as the Great tsunami. Everyone is aging at the same time,
a large percentage of the population, their homes or apartments
(23:13):
that they live in, aren't prepared for them to age,
aren't adapted to their needs. So yes, it's definitely something
that hasn't been thought of. So therefore, and I think,
you know, people are putting blinders out of the government
is not paying attention to that great.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Need you mentioned. You have a list of people who
are contacting you. We'll talk to us about that greater
need here. How big is the need?
Speaker 9 (23:37):
So just last year and this is only the capacity
that we were able to handle with our staff and funds,
we helped one hundred and nineteen people prevent them from
becoming homeless, just in Boston. And we you know, we
study what does this cost us because we need to
raise money to do this. It cost us just sixteen
(23:59):
hundred twenty dollars per person. I say just times that
by the one hundred and nineteen reserved. But if we
look at it, and this is the appeal that we
have to the government, to the funders donors, it costs
less than two thousand dollars to keep somebody in their
home on average. And there was also a study not
(24:19):
only I can tell you from exactly what we did
last year, but there was a study in Santa Clara County,
California three to four years ago that found it cost
them two thousand dollars per person to keep somebody off
the streets.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Lots of data that proves that this can be as
an issue that can be resolved. And we want to
thank you so much for joining us here on the
New England Business Report. All right, so, Joe, we've seen
one sector of our community that is obviously having problems
staying in their homes thanks to high costs here in
the New England area. When we come back an organization
trying to improve the housing crisis for those who are
(24:57):
living with disabilities, Kim and.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Joe will explore more business news that impacts our New
England economy when they return.
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Speaker 7 (26:13):
Are you a brother or sister of one of Greater
Boston's local trade unions and finally thinking about getting ready
to hang up your tools after thirty five years of
working your tailoff? Congratulations, you worked hard to build your retirement.
Nest egg but now what Let me help you break
through the nonsense and financial speak so we can get
to the questions that are important to you. As you know,
nothing gets built without a set of plans, and neither
(26:35):
will your financial future. My name is Mike Marshall, President
and CEO of Marshal Wealth Management and creator of the
Marshall Plan, a comprehensive customized plan that will help you
answer important questions in all seven key areas. You don't
have to do it alone. There is no cost or obligation.
Call us at eight five seven three four two ten thirty.
(26:55):
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Speaker 8 (27:05):
Advisory services offered through Capital Analysts or Lincoln Investment Registered
Investment Advisors. Securities offered through Lincoln Investment Broker Dealer Member
fin SIPC, Lincoln Investment dot Com, Marshal Wealth Management and
the above firms are independent and not affiliated.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
And welcome back to the New England Business Support on
this Sunday morning, July the thirteenth, and this is the
spot in the program where we talk about other business
news that may or may not you may or may
not be aware of it. And this happened yesterday, Kim. Now,
I know we've talked about this in the past, and
if we're talking about our good old friend who's passed away,
Mayor Tom and Nino, and yesterday in South Boston, it
(27:40):
finally happened. The Menino Center. It is now known as
it was Boston's Convention and Exhibition Center, but it has
a new name in honor of the late mayor because
you know, it's funny, at the time it was happening
and at the time he was in office, you didn't
realize what a tug of war that was going on
with that piece of land was basically you know, parking
(28:03):
lots and warehouses. But you know, when you think back
in you remember, yeah, remember the headlines, because I'm looking
at a Shirley Lenge column here in the Boston Globe
and basically she writes how it was a bold move
because Manina was a political underdog back then, locked in
a fight of the ages against then Governor Bill Weld
(28:24):
and the Winglam Patriots owner Bob Kraft, because they wanted
to build a stadium there.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Right, that's right, They wanted to move the stadium up here,
and he believed that it was a great gateway to
what is now the seaport and bringing more businesses over
that direction. And in the end, I'm going to argue
that he was right, you know, that he made all
the right moves. And I remember when that was all
(28:49):
going on, because the big fight about that was, you know,
we already have a convention center, and that convention center
which still exists, of course in the back bay, but
it's so small it never would allow the kind of
growth and expansion when it comes to that kind of
business in the city. So and I think it's a
great Instead of a statue, this is a wonderful way
to honor his legacy.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
Yeah, because I can remember him at the time thinking, oh,
you know, Menino is not going to win this battle.
You know, he's you know, the Craft are going to
come build that stagem. But you know what he won,
And I think you're right, Kim, he was right.
Speaker 9 (29:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Well, people living with disabilities are facing a whole lot
of challenges, not the least of which is finding affordable
housing that can help them live independently. That's changing for
some residents in Maine thanks to an organization that's called
three I Home. Its founder and president, Paul Lynette, is
joining us at this hour, and it's great to have
(29:44):
Paul with us. Paul, why don't you start by talking
about exactly what three EYE Home is doing.
Speaker 5 (29:51):
Great to be with you. Three I Housing of Maine,
also known as three I Home, is promoting independent living
options for people with disability through innovative smart home technology
in an integrated home and community based setting. So what
this really is is breaking of the paradigm that oftentimes
(30:16):
needlessly institutionalizes people who need assistance with activities of daily living.
And we're doing that in a number of different models
here in name.
Speaker 3 (30:26):
All right, give us us for instance there, Paul, I mean,
what are you talking about when you talk about tech
enabled housing?
Speaker 5 (30:31):
Well, this is actually born from a lived experience that
I have When my wife and I were in the
Greater Boston area, and that was some decades ago, and
I can recall my wife, who was a pediatrician having
difficulty with her balance. We touch base with some of
(30:54):
the top neurologists around and I remember being pulled aside
by one of those folks who said, a person who
presents with your wife's condition is oftentimes institutionalized. And the
fact of the matter is that over the course of
twenty five years of disabling disease, Susan was an active
(31:16):
participant in the community and live life on her own term.
We were fortunate, but there are seven in Maine. There
are thousands of people and nationwide millions of people who
don't have the wherewithal to obtain accessible housing. So our
models are twofold. One. We're building a totally universal design
(31:43):
apartment complex in southern Maine in the suburbs of Portland.
That's fifty one units of one, two and three bedroom
apartments outfitted to meet the needs of each of the
households with their particular challenges through a system and smart
home features. And that program has gotten such a wide
(32:09):
range of reception that people in rural areas of Mayne
are saying, well, what about our location. We need this
to age in place, And because of the needs that
we have here for both affordable and accessible housing, that
has spawned our Caring Communities concept, which is a neighborhood model.
(32:36):
A family and rural Maine came to us and said,
we have a loved one. He's a young adult. He
has a disability, and we would like to make sure
that he's stably housed when we're no longer able to
care for him. So we're in the process of developing
individual tiny homes around a caring community concept. I think
(33:00):
this can be replicable across not only Maine, but also
throughout New Inlands.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
Paul and Ed is our guest. He is the founder
and president of three I Home. Paul, We've been talking
all morning about the affordability issue related to housing in
New England. Obviously, these kinds of homes can be extremely
expensive for anyone, but those who are living with disabilities,
this must be a real challenge.
Speaker 5 (33:29):
We're at the crossroads of a number of public policy
matters that are really pressing, not only here in Maine,
but throughout the country. We have the affordable housing concern,
we have accepsible housing, as I just outlined, and we
have an acute direct care workforce shortage throughout the United States.
(33:54):
Recent study by the Commonwealth Fund said that over the
next ten years, we need to find a million more
people who will do direct care work so that folks
can live in the community as active participants. And so
one of our models is to provide a stipend for
(34:15):
direct care workers who quite frankly, are undervalued and could
be making more money by closing down a fast food
restaurant than they could if they were to stay in
the profession, and that would be a model that would
retain the family unit and maintain this essential care workforce
(34:37):
that quite frankly, is a drain on forty million Americans
who are not doing their chosen profession because they also
are working to care for family members. So we think
that this is the time to have a broad conversation
about what it means as the aging baby rumors, they're accessible,
(35:02):
housing requirements increase and we have pressures on rural hospitals
to maintain a workforce. Blending those issues together in a
thoughtful way is actually part of our future plans. Recalling
about twenty five years ago when I was involved in
convening a national Family Caregivers Summit that was held at
(35:26):
the JFK Library in Dorchester. We want to renew those
conversations and preliminary discussions are underway to have a new
England wide summit to bring more lights to the accessible,
affordable housing challenges that exist throughout the region.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
All Right, Paul, Well, interesting fascinating work that you're doing,
and we thank you so much for sharing this information
with us here on the New England Business Report.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
All right, Kim, I'm going to continue this conversation about
affordable housing here in New England. I mean, it shows everywhere.
I mean, and I don't care where you are or
what you're talking about it when he talks about affordable housing.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
It's been a fascinating conversation.
Speaker 3 (36:06):
Joe. Yeah're glad we're having it. Yeah, and you talk
about it down on Cape Cod. I mean, you know,
this is an interesting story here, a business story, and
it has to do with a company called a Broadway
Capital and its owner, Mike Veno. And basically Broadway Capital
is there in Chelsea right now, among other places. But
(36:27):
Broadway Capital is developing workforce and mixed income housing in
this new project in Chelsea. But here here's the thing
that caught our attention. He's doing it using a bitcoin
reserve fund to help fund a finance affordability and it's
one of the first of the kind of the country.
We want to welcome Mike to the program. So Mike
tell us about Broadway Capital.
Speaker 10 (36:48):
Yeah, Broadway Capital has been around for about ten years now,
and we're based out of Chelsea and we do, you know,
residential development. That's our primary focus. We own about one
hundred and fifty residential units in the north shore of Massachusetts.
And yeah, we have about twenty employees.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
So talk about this issue of using bitcoin, you know,
as a back er if you will, for these projects
that you're doing. My understanding is that you're one of
the only in the nation that's doing this.
Speaker 10 (37:21):
Yeah, I mean, we got into cryptocurrency a few years back.
It peaked our interest and we did a lot of
research on it internally within our business, and what we
decided to do was create a bitcoin reserve, a strategic reserve,
and right now we're using that bitcoin reserve as liquidity
to support you know a number of our projects, whether
(37:42):
it be for financing support or bonding support where we
need to get a construction bond. We have this liquidity,
which is in bitcoin. That's a deflationary asset that we
store and we use it as like kind of a
store of value in order to support our development. And
lenders look at this and see this on our balance
(38:02):
sheet and it helps us secure loans and also secure
bonds for construction projects. So right now we're piloting the
program at one fifty William Street and Chelsea, which is
a twenty unit residential development and it's one hundred percent affordable.
It's supported by MATH Housing and MHIC which is the lender.
(38:23):
And this is really our first project and as far
as we know, the first in the nation's that's using
this Bitcoin reserve as the liquidity source to support affordable
housing development projects.
Speaker 3 (38:35):
Mike, as it relates to that project there in Chelsea,
what does affordable housing I mean? What does affordable mean
in that context?
Speaker 10 (38:42):
So affordable in our cases, we have units ranging for
sixty percent to one hundred percent of the area mean income,
which is AMI. And so in order to qualify to
buy one of our condominium units, because there's twenty of
them total, you have to fall somewhere in that range
of sixty to one hundred percent of the area mean income.
(39:05):
That is the definition in our project of affordable. So
people for example, that would fall into that category would
be municipal workers in some cases that fall into that
income range. And it really depends too on your family size,
so that income range fluctuates depending on how big your
family is. So that's the definition of affordable on this project.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
So affordable housing obviously is a huge issue here in
the Boston area, and you're talking about for municipal workers,
and that's been an issue for different portions of the
workforce looking for places to live. What's the benefit We
understand what the benefit is for all of them. What's
the benefit for you as a builder?
Speaker 10 (39:50):
Well, I think it's definitely to support the community that
we operate in, which is Chelsea. Chelsea, as you know,
it's a sanctuary city and a lot of people, I mean,
it's it's eighty percent rental right now. And what we're
trying to do with these type of developments is give
residents the opportunity to have their own home, to actually
(40:10):
own a you know, a real estate asset that's going
to appreciate.
Speaker 4 (40:14):
In value over time.
Speaker 10 (40:16):
And I think that really benefits the city. But at
the same time, it benefits us because we're you know,
doing the construction, the development, and also the sales on
the back end of the project. So it's really a
win win situation for both Broadway Capital, the city of Chelsea,
and the state of Massachusetts in this case.
Speaker 3 (40:34):
Well, Mike, how how do families or individuals find you
and what is the need there.
Speaker 10 (40:40):
You know, We've done a number of these affordable developments
in the past, and in many cases we get ten
to twenty times the amount of applicants for these affordable
units than we actually have available. So in this example,
at one fifty Williams, where we have twenty affordable units,
would be anticipating getting between you know, one hundred and
fifty in two hundred and fifty applicants that are interested
(41:02):
in these twenty units. So there's a super high demand
for these affordable units, you know, throughout the Commonwealth, but
especially in areas that are close to Boston where a
lot of the jobs are. So this is really where
where the opportunity is.
Speaker 2 (41:17):
So Mike tell us why there's not more of these
kinds of projects going in. I mean, I think I
might know some of the answers, but I'd like to
hear it from your.
Speaker 11 (41:25):
Point of view.
Speaker 10 (41:25):
Yeah, right now, the economic climate is you know, is
challenging because interest rates are high and lending is pretty
tight for these these type of development deals.
Speaker 5 (41:36):
But I think if.
Speaker 10 (41:37):
Interest rates come down a bit, you know, in the
next six months to a year, which we expect they would.
I think this environment could change pretty quickly where it
would be easier for developers to get loans and the
economics of the project would make more sense with lower
interest rates. In our case, you know, we rarely rely
heavily on state subsidies to support the development of these
(41:59):
projects through the Mass Housing Commonwealth Build a program.
Speaker 3 (42:02):
Heaving, do you have another project in the works at
this point after this one is sold out?
Speaker 10 (42:08):
We do have one that we're finishing up now, which
is seventy two units, which is in Reverare. It's located
at one thirty three Salem Street, and that that's actually underway,
and we're looking at another potentially one hundred and twenty
unit development in Chelsea that's still in the early stages
of development, or that those units would be affordable as well.
Speaker 3 (42:27):
You have a website or how do folks find you?
Speaker 10 (42:29):
Yeah, our website Broadwaycapital dot com. That's one way. And
as again, we're going to be you know, pushing our
bitcoin reserve, where we're trying to set up an entity
where you know, potentially outsiders could invest, accredited investors could
invest in our in our strategic reserve, which would help
(42:50):
support and fund future affordable development projects.
Speaker 3 (42:55):
Wonderful? All right, well, good luck you Mike Bano. He's
the owner of a Broadway capital there and please keep
us up to date on your progress. Up next for
n' be talking with the executive editor of the Boston
Business Journal, one Doug Banks.
Speaker 1 (43:13):
You are listening to the New England Business Report on
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Speaker 3 (46:15):
And welcome back to The New England Business report on
This sunday. Morning we can't leave without checking in with
the executive editor of The Boston Business. Journal that'd be
One Doug, banks regular visitor to our program here and
as you know when you read THE bbj and you go,
Online doug every day is publishing the five things you
need to know today about business In New. England, well
(46:38):
we kind of break that down into the five things
you need to know this, week And doug's here to
share with us the headlines that he selected for us this, Week,
doug thanks for joining.
Speaker 11 (46:46):
Us thanks so much for having, Me joe And.
Speaker 3 (46:48):
Kim All, right we got a couple interesting, headlines contradictory.
Headlines let's start with The boston, headline a story written
By Grant welker promising Signs boston office vacancy rates, down
absorption HiT's a. High that's good, news. Right.
Speaker 12 (47:08):
Yeah, so as we all, know because we've talked about
it almost NonStop for the past five years SINCE, covid
there's been less need for downtown office space because people
are working from. Home and yet even as companies are
asking workers to come back to the, office you, know
the economy is what it. Is with tariffs and, everything
(47:29):
companies have slowed their. Hiring so companies just don't need
as much office. Space downtown vacancies have been have been
a real problem in cities obviously all across the, country
and so because employers want smaller, spaces they want more,
amenities and workers want to be able to work from
home at least a couple of days a. Week so
(47:49):
this past week we had a new report From jlls
real estate firm here In boston that showed two promising,
signs as you, mentioned one was office vacancy rates are down.
Speaker 11 (48:01):
For the fourth straight.
Speaker 12 (48:02):
Quarter so we've had four straight quarters of vacancy rates
not getting, bigger but getting. Smaller that's a good. Sign
and then we have what's called net. Absorption it's the
pace of new occupancy in office.
Speaker 11 (48:15):
Space net. Absorption it's basically.
Speaker 12 (48:17):
That rate at which we're absorbing the vacant or available
space that's on the. Market that absorption is at its
highest point since PRE, covid since twenty. Nineteen, now obviously
because there's more space that's, available you're going to, see you,
know rate is going to be a little bit higher
as it's coming. Back but the fact, is whenever you're
adding in filling office, space that's a good sign as.
(48:39):
Well so jll's data showed that we vacancy rate is
now twenty one point one percent in the city twenty
two point nine percent in the metro, area which let's be,
clear that's still double what it was pre. PANDEMIC i,
mean you, know the office vacancy rate was around ten
percent or, less you, know over five years. Ago so
it's not you, know we're not. Great there's still a
(49:00):
lot of vacancies out. There there's tons of lab space
that has gone. Unfilled but that's you, know we're we're
getting there at least it's not getting. Worse and then
on the absorption, side you're seeing news like you guys have,
reported we've all reported On lego moving its headquarters here
that took up one hundred and sixty thousand square feet
(49:21):
of space. Downtown the tech Company, claveo they make marketing software.
Speaker 11 (49:25):
Technology they added a quarter.
Speaker 12 (49:26):
Of a million, space quarter of a million square feet
of space at one twenty Five Summer street this past
year or. So so you're seeing some big investments in
companies Downtown, boston which again brings in some of the absorption.
Speaker 11 (49:43):
Rate and it's and it's good.
Speaker 2 (49:44):
News, absolutely it's great, news great news for those. Businesses
it's great news for all the smaller businesses around them
that need them for. Support the flip side of, this,
though is that you, know we're moving a lot, quicker
it seems than, nationally which is kind of.
Speaker 12 (49:58):
Crazy, yes so it's so funny the story we posted that.
Day earlier this, week our national team posted a similar
story and the headline was not so. Rosy, basically THE
Us office vacancy rates hit a new record, high so
office vacancy at a national level hit another high in
the second. Quarter now that, again the percentage of office
(50:21):
vacancies nationally is twenty point six, percent so it's actually
better Then. Boston's But boston is certainly not great for our.
Vacancies but the difference is, nationally when you look across the,
country the trend is that it will continue to, Rise
so that, number even As boston is holding and starting
to shrink, it the number nationally is still rising and
(50:42):
is expected to rise according To.
Speaker 11 (50:43):
Moody's this was A moody's report that was.
Speaker 12 (50:45):
Reported it will rise for the next couple of quarters
until PROBABLY q ONE q two of twenty twenty, six
and then again same. Issues companies nationally are really loath
to start. Hiring they don't know what's going to happen
with the. Economy the economy is completely rocky and, unpredictable
and companies are not going to just you, know take up.
Speaker 11 (51:07):
Space and lease.
Speaker 12 (51:08):
Rates tend to be ten year, leases, Right so what
we're seeing in twenty twenty five is the completion of
rates of leases lease terms that were started in twenty.
Fifteen in twenty sixteen and twenty, seventeen when you know
things were going great and companies had taken a lot of.
Space so those are coming to completion and companies are, Saying,
(51:29):
okay we need to renew a. Lease we're certainly not
going to take the space that we. Have we're going
to be looking for less and we're looking for newer.
Buildings we're looking for more. Amenities we want to attract
our workers to come, downtown.
Speaker 11 (51:41):
But we just don't need the space that we needed.
Before so that's where you're getting all this empty space
hitting the.
Speaker 3 (51:45):
Markets Dog, banks executive editor of The Boston Business, journals
our guests in that national story talking about vacancy rates
hitting a new record, high they did single out the
four areas or four cities where you know they were
bucking that, trend And, baston as we all, know and
according to your, headline is one of. Them and so
you Had, Seattle, Boston, chicago and Suburban. Virginia we're actually
(52:10):
going the positive. Direction. Uh But i'm, Curious, doug when
you see those four, cities is there a common theme?
THERE i, mean what's happening that those guys are bucking the?
Speaker 12 (52:20):
Trend those four Cities joe are all tech tech. Cities
so you See seattle of course with you, Know amazon And.
Microsoft you Have chicago has a you, know pretty big
sized tech. Sector in Suburban, virginia they're looking at mostly
The Dulles, corridor which is a lot of federal, contractors
a lot of tech. Companies, now so those companies in
(52:42):
a lot of cases are doing exactly WHAT i just, said,
Right they're adding, amenities they're bringing people. Back they need
to have people in the, office and and they had
a lot of remote work and now they're starting to
bring people. Back so so you're seeing some small absorption
coming in that the number there was a quarterly numbers
was a little bit different than what we looked, at
(53:04):
which was twelve months. Trailing but the fact is it's
all going up and, down up and. DOWN i, mean
we're we're now hitting this sort of bumpy patterns and
all the data and so we could very next quarter
we could very well be talking About, boston you, know spiking,
again and we just don't. Know so it's a positive
sign at the. Moment we just don't know where things
(53:24):
are going to go in the next. Quarter but in the,
Meantime it's always heartening to see That boston is doing
better than most piers across the. Country we like to see,
that especially because you, know we have some we have
so many industries here that are you, know that are
getting hit with this office back to work.
Speaker 2 (53:43):
Issue let's talk about another story that you were pointing.
Out that's the issue of international travelers coming Through Logan.
Airport you, KNOW i think that the we all thought
that there were a lot of international, flights but now
we have this fabulous new terminal that really is making
a difference as, well and it feels like to me
(54:03):
they're trying to compete maybe with the you know JFKs
of the. World if you come this, way you don't
have to stop In New.
Speaker 11 (54:10):
York that's exactly, Right.
Speaker 12 (54:12):
Kim you, know we got the new mass PORT, Ceo Rich,
davey whom we all have talked, about and we all
know he's on the record saying that he's hoping That
logan will be a top three to five what they
call mega. Airports so there's twenty similar sized airports that
are considered the mega airports IN jfk of course as
one of, them and you know D c In La San, Francisco,
(54:33):
chicago et, cetera et. Cetera right, Now boston is tenth
out of. Twenty he's saying he's putting on the record
he wants to be in top three to five in
THE us and in order to do, THAT i, mean
that's an ambitious, goal. Right that's there's a lot of
cities that are investing in, states investing in their. Airports
boston doesn't have a lot of space to.
Speaker 11 (54:54):
Add it's not like.
Speaker 12 (54:55):
You can go into the, ocean, RIGHT i, mean we're.
Landlocked you got the city on, ones you go the
ocean on The So massport can't exactly just build a new.
Terminal and so his focus is to add more international
travel by adding more trips with a lot of the
carriers that are already. Here now they've definitely added new.
Carriers we've talked about, that but he's trying, to you,
(55:17):
know grow sort of organically with the carriers that they,
have the airlines they, have and they're going to be
conducting their first strategic plan in over a, decade so
we'll see where that. Goes and in the, meantime they're
going to just continue to try to add new routes
and try to stuff them into the terminals where they
have them now and have those airlines jockey for. Position
but it'll be really interesting to see when you think, about,
(55:41):
like you, know parts Of, Asia, india you, Know. China
we don't have a lot of flights To, china and you,
know we can get To europe really easily from.
Speaker 11 (55:51):
Here china And asia not so.
Speaker 12 (55:54):
Much so it's going to be interesting to see both
from a global economic, standpoint what, countries you, know where
do people want to go and where do business people
need to? Go and then you know Where boston can
fit into that.
Speaker 11 (56:06):
Plan so it's it's going to be.
Speaker 12 (56:07):
Interesting BUT i love That Rich davey wants to do
that and he's you, know he's he's trying to Put
boston on the map literally and, figuratively AND i think
THAT'S i think that's great for.
Speaker 3 (56:17):
Us it's good, stuff all. Right He's Doug. Banks he's
the executive editor of The Boston Business. Journal we do
appreciate you taking time and joining us This sunday. Morning
i'm In New England Business.
Speaker 2 (56:26):
Report, Well, joe that's going to do it for this week's.
Show and what a great. SHOW i think this one
has Been we hope everybody can join us again Next
sunday when we have a discussion ABOUT ai and its
impact on Rural massachusetts and for that, matter just Rural New.
England you, KNOW ai is you, know taking over the,
(56:46):
world and it has a lot of positive things going.
On but is Rural america getting the kind of help
and exposure TO ai that it. Should so we'll have
an expert on to talk to us a little bit
more about that business impact coming up Next sunday right
here in The New England Business report at eight, am
right here on The voice Of boston W RKO am
(57:08):
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