Earlier this week the good news dropped that Hub tech firms were scrambling for talent. We end it with the bad news of another report that places the region behind New York in another aspect of the tech arms race: New York has 41 venture capital- and private-equity-backed tech firms vs. 40 in Massachusetts. A razor-thin advantage, to be sure, but it matters for real estate.
We'll tell you why.
In South Boston, there are hundreds of micro-apartments aimed at techies planned. East Boston's waterfront is basically based on Southie's renaissance. Tech nexuses like the Innovation District and Kendall Square depend on growth in the tech industry for their very relevance. Heck, the nearly existential debate going on right now in Cambridge over how to build has a lot to do with tech growth and the promise of fresh residents from it.
You get the picture. Tech is an arms race the Hub can ill afford to lose. Not to New York.
· New York Inches Past Massachusetts on Tech IPO Pipeline List [Herald]
· Hub's Tech Sector Needs Bodies—Good News for Real Estate [Curbed Boston]
· South Boston Techies Will Rescue East Boston Real Estate [Curbed Boston]
· The Departed: South Boston to Change Forever This Year [Curbed Boston]
· A Day in the Life of Kendall Square: Lobster and Smartphones [Curbed Boston]
· NIMBYs and YIMBYs in Cambridge Hone Their Messages [Curbed Boston]
· 6 Things You Should Realize About the Innovation District [Curbed Boston]