Boston's biggest property owner going all green

The city's largest property owner - spurred by high energy prices and rising demand from tenants - is seeking "green" certification for all of its office buildings, marking a major milestone in Mayor Thomas M. Menino's push to make Boston the nation's most environmentally friendly city.

Equity Office Properties Trust, which owns 20 structures in and around Boston, is outfitting its buildings with features ranging from energy-saving heating and cooling units to new bike racks as part of a multimillion-dollar effort to stamp its buildings with the green label.

"We're doing this from a social responsibility perspective, but it's also become necessary to maintain tenants," said Greg Shay, president of Boston operations for Equity Office. "It's gotten to the point where not taking action is somewhat foolish."

Real Estate Analysts Say Purchases Appear To Be A Trend

Real estate analysts say a wealthy Boston investor is well on his way to creating the city's biggest mansion ever in the Back Bay, one with 24,000 square feet and 15 bathrooms.

The $23 million mansion at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Exeter Street is being built for investment executive Ofer Nemirovsky, according to the Boston Globe.

Nemirovsky purchased several condos and a townhouse over the past several years in order to combine them into one pricey, luxurious mansion that will include a glass atrium and walkway, elevator, media room and library and basement ball playing court.