The World Trade Center Complex on the revitalized Boston waterfront is a good example of a successful mixed-use project.

Suburban office parks were the hot trend in commercial real estate design and development over the last few decades. Located outside the premium downtown areas, suburban office parks were affordable, practical alternatives to costly downtown high-rise offices. But, moving to the suburbs was not without its costs. Although cost-effective from both the development and operating points of view, many companies found that suburban office parks often lacked the prestige of their former urban office settings. There was also a price to be paid in terms of employee satisfaction, as commutes became more difficult without access to public transportation and employees found it less convenient to shop or run errands on their lunch breaks.

Today, mixed-use developments are offering office tenants solutions to some of these problems. By incorporating two or more space-types such as retail, office, hotel or residential space into a single facility, mixed-use projects can make more efficient use of the land being developed while at the same time restoring the conveniences that were lost in the move to suburban office parks. Recently, mixed-use developments have become more prevalent. As communities look to contain urban sprawl, increasingly strict zoning regulations are making high-density land use a necessity. Lenders are also fueling the trend, recognizing the correlation between strong returns and maximum efficiency of land use.

Mixed-use developments that combine office space with retail space, and even hotel development, offer unparalleled convenience and efficiencies for tenants and their employees. By offering tenants a comprehensive set of services and amenities, a mixed-use project can provide value not only to its office tenants, but also to employees, retail customers, and the surrounding neighborhood. In short, a well-designed mixed-use development has the capacity to become a vibrant, self-contained community.

As with most developments, design and location are critical success factors for mixed-use projects. For multiple space types to be usable and successful in a single development area, the development must be well-located. Retail space must have a population to draw from, office space must be accessible to public transportation and other businesses, and hotel rooms need to be convenient to tourist attractions and business districts. Likewise, careful consideration must be given to how the space within the development will be allotted so that the optimal tenant mix can be achieved. In many instances, the relationships between tenants will be symbiotic. Office tenants will become customers of the retail tenants and restaurants that provide the goods and services that make up the overall amenities offering of the development. What then becomes the critical determining factor of success is the development?s ability to not only integrate the products and services offered through the tenant mix, but also the products and services offered by the development itself.

The World Trade Center Complex on the revitalized Boston waterfront is a good example of a successful mixed-use project. Comprised of the Seaport Hotel, the World Trade Center Boston, World Trade Center East and West office towers and the Seaport Garage, the World Trade Center Complex is the most diverse location in this emerging district. Individually, each building offers exceptional space for its tenants, but the real power lies in each building?s ability to leverage the resources of the others. Collectively, they become more than the sum of their parts.

Easily accessible from South Station and within a short distance of both the downtown financial district and Boston?s Logan Airport, the Complex offers its tenants comprehensive services, benefits, and amenities.

The World Trade Center East and West office towers combine to offer in excess of 1 million square feet of Class-A office space. World Trade Center East is a 16-story, 505,000-square-foot tower; World Trade Center West is a 17-story, 575,000-square-foot tower. World Trade Center East, which was completed in fall 2000, is home to such notable tenants as Cabot Corp., AEW Capital Management, Fitzgerald Communications, Seyfarth Shaw and Cetrulo & Capone. World Trade Center West, scheduled for completion in spring 2002, is already more than 70 percent leased to two high-profile Boston area law firms.

Both buildings were designed to provide retail space on the ground floors. The variety of restaurants and shops that will occupy this space will benefit from not only the high traffic density generated by the buildings? office space, but also the nearby residential population. Additionally, office tenant employees enjoy the convenience of these retail outlets. Because these amenities are located within the development, employees are able to run errands, go shopping, and eat lunch without expending any travel time.

Seaport Hotel
Situated directly between World Trade Center East and West, the Seaport Hotel is a 426-room deluxe hotel catering primarily to business travelers and leisure guests who appreciate a fresh alternative to conventional chain hotels. Opened since the spring of 1998, the hotel also boasts 17,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, including an 8,200 square foot ballroom. Also on-site at the hotel are a restaurant and bar, a take-out café, a gift shop, and a variety of health and recreational facilities.

The proximity of the hotel to both office towers provides tenants with convenient accommodations for out-of-town clients as well as flexible options for meeting space. Additionally, tenants and their employees have access to both the hotel?s restaurants and health club facilities. Tenants can even use the hotel?s room service to deliver meals to their offices when working late.

World Trade Center Boston
Rated the most active convention center in North America by Meeting News magazine, the World Trade Center Boston offers 250,000 square feet of exhibition and executive conference center space, including a 120,000 square foot exhibition hall, a 418 seat amphitheater, and 35,000 square feet of conference and meeting space. Each year, the World Trade Center Boston draws more than 1,000,000 attendees.

Built in 1986, WTCB was the first development at the now flourishing World Trade Center Complex. As with the other buildings, it capitalizes on its location near the financial district with a complimentary shuttle service. The abundance of meeting space, together with its ease of access from downtown and Logan Airport, contribute to WTCB?s success as a meeting and convention facility, but its affiliation with the Seaport Hotel makes it particularly attractive to meeting and convention planners. The combination of meeting and lodging space, coupled with the event planning services provided by the facility, provide busy planners with one-stop shopping while giving the complex a strong competitive advantage. This convenient combination of space and lodging is equally attractive to tenants of the World Trade Center East and West when their meeting and conference needs exceed their office capacity.

Seaport Garage
The Seaport Garage opened with 1,250 spaces in conjunction with the opening of the Seaport Hotel in 1998. It is located beneath the hotel, and provides parking for overnight guests, attendees of functions at the hotel and World Trade Center, monthly parkers and transient guests. With the opening of World Trade Center East, an additional 660 spaces became available, and another 330 will open in 2002 in conjunction with World Trade Center West.

The garage is a prime example of the benefits that can be reaped with a well-designed, mixed-use project. Peak demand for parking for office tenants and conference and meeting attendees occurs during the day, Monday through Friday. Peak demand for hotel guests occurs during the evening. Peak demand for leisure guests and wedding attendess occurs on Saturday and Sunday. By carefully planning the tenant mix, and taking into account the needs of each tenant, it is possible to achieve a mix that results in complementary needs. In an office tower, the parking demand would be cyclical. With mixed use, it is possible to coordinate demand so that the garage is fully utilized.

Another unique feature of this development is a highly capable concierge program that serves each of the buildings within the complex. While each building has a dedicated concierge located in the lobby, tenants are able to leverage the skills and resources of the entire team, resulting in a very comprehensive and powerful service. Hotel guests, conference attendees, office tenants and their employees can all use this service to accomplish professional and personal tasks such as ordering lunch for meetings or securing tickets for a ball game. This unique service allows offices to run more efficiently and significantly contributes to both tenant and employee satisfaction. At the same time, the service provides added value to hotel guests and exhibition hall customers.

Eastport Park/Seaport Hotel Garden
Green space is also a key component of a successful mixed-use development. The plaza level entrance to the Seaport Hotel features inviting gardens and seating areas for guests and tenants to enjoy. The complex also includes Eastport Park, a 1.3 acre sculpture park and the first public green space to be added to this developing area. Both spaces capitalize on the wonderful harborside location, incorporating materials and elements that reflect the coastal New England character of the site. Additionally, the sculpture park represents a significant civic contribution not only to this developing neighborhood, but also to the City of Boston.

Each of these buildings is compelling in their own right and, certainly, each building benefits from its proximity to the others. But, what makes this mixed-use development so successful, is the thoughtful integration of not only the space, but also the services provided. At the center of this success is a strong and careful attention to detail ? the ability to anticipate tenants? needs and to exceed their expectations. In today?s world, time is a precious commodity. By providing tenants with a variety of services and amenities in one convenient location, mixed-use developments can help them to achieve greater efficiencies in both their personal and professional lives. Offering a complete, comprehensive, and seamless package of services and amenities is the key to establishing a successful mixed-use development.