Corean Reynold was recently appointed the Director of Nightlife Economy for the City of Boston, where she brings a wealth of experience and a passion for fostering an equitable and thriving nightlife ecosystem.
10/04/2023
6:00pm - 7:30pm
Roundhead Brewing Company
Don’t miss our upcoming Government Affairs Forum with Massachusetts State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg. Register now!
10/11/2023
9:45am - 11:00am
Bank of America
Learn about new ways of utilizing the professional apprenticeship model to create diverse, sustainable, and scalable talent pipelines.
10/12/2023
10:00am - 11:30am
Edenred
Designed for mid-level managers and supervisors, this new certificate program addresses workplace well-being through unique, innovative, and actionable methods.
Join our Transformational DEI Certificate! Our comprehensive learning & development offerings are designed to connect and grow strong leaders who lead both inside and out of the office.
Our Women’s Leadership Program enables you to take your leadership to the next level by arming you with the most in-demand leadership toolkit.
Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.
Our Economic Inclusion Committee provides strategic support around research, policies, and programs that are focused on building equal opportunity.
We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).
The Fierce Urgency of Now Festival brings Boston’s diverse young professionals together with business leaders, organizations and their peers to build connection, advance careers and ignite positive change.
09/12/2023 -
09/16/2023
Greater Boston
City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.
BIMA (the Boston Interactive Media Association) serves a vibrant community of like-minded professionals from agencies, brands, publishers, and ad-tech companies with business interests in the New England market.
For nearly 30 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.
The Massachusetts Apprentice Network convenes employers, training providers, and talent sources interested in developing and implementing apprenticeship programs in occupations across industries and statewide in fields such as tech, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and more.
We support small business through public policy initiatives, events designed to connect small businesses in Greater Boston to their peers and established business leaders, professional development offerings, and free small business advising.
Explore our mission and values to better understand how we are leading the business community forward.
Our member directory is your resource to discover, connect, and engage with Boston’s businesses from every industry and sector.
After a short period of complete uncertainty in March and April 2020, a handful of landlords and tenants smartly negotiated modifications of their existing leases to establish new lease terms for the remainder of the calendar year and in some cases well beyond. Such lease modifications in the past six months have included the following:
It is no secret that many retailers have been unable to pay their full rental obligations (and some in no position to pay any rent). While some landlords and tenants have been able to reach agreement on one or more of the modifications described above, in many cases no resolution is reached. As a result, the court systems across the United States are filling up with rent payment disputes between landlords and tenants. The decisions in these cases have shaped how landlords and tenants negotiate rent modification agreements.
Most courts have so far found in favor of landlords which has led to some landlords being less incentivized to strike a deal with their struggling tenants. However, a recent February decision in the Massachusetts Superior Court found a judge bucking this trend by ruling in favor of a tenant operating as a café, sending a jolt through the commercial landlord-tenant community. In UMNV 205-207 Newbury, LLC v. Caffé Nero Americas Inc., the trial court excused the tenant café’s obligation to pay rent during the period of Governor Charlie Baker’s shutdown order, with the judge basing his decision on the application of an old legal doctrine known as “frustration of purpose”. Under this doctrine, when a party’s primary purpose under a contract is materially frustrated (through no fault of their own) by the occurrence of an unforeseeable event, then the party’s obligations under the contract are discharged. While this case is only a lower court decision that could be overturned on appeal, it has served as a wake-up call for the Massachusetts real estate community. Other cases could be decided in a similar fashion as more landlord-tenant disputes work their way through the court system. Litigation will surely continue well after the pandemic is over and can change how parties approach lease modification discussions.
The commercial real estate industry in Massachusetts has experienced its fair share of twists and turns courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even with an end seemingly in sight, there is simply no way to predict when normalcy will return (and it will not be an overnight process). Open dialogue and cooperation is still the best path to negotiating a mutually beneficial solution to get through the pandemic and eventually return to business as usual. It is the one way for landlords and tenants to achieve a little bit of certainty amidst the unpredictability of the pandemic and the legal landscape still coming into focus.
Our guest blogs are written and produced by organizations within our membership. They are not intended to reflect the views nor opinions of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
Eric is a partner in the Boston office at Seyfarth Shaw. He also serves as co-chair of the national Leasing practice and focuses his work on commercial, retail, and office leasing. Real estate clients faced with aggressive growth goals look to Eric when they need to increase their number of leased or owned sites, retail locations, and office locations. As a certified Six Sigma Green Belt, Eric uses project management, process improvement, and technology in all aspects of his legal practice. He works collaboratively with clients to develop a programmatic and innovative approach to their real estate portfolios. His collaborative client relationships have been recognized with accolades and awards from the Association of Corporate Counsel (Value Co-Champion Award), The American Lawyer (Best Client/Law Firm Team Award) and The Financial Times (Innovation in Collaboration Honor).
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