New Shack out to Shake up Newbury St.

Shake Shack, the much-ballyhooed burger chain from New York, is heading for Boston's Newbury Street next year.

The, 5,600-square-foot, two-level location at 236 Newbury St. will be Shake Shack's third store in Massachusetts and its largest yet.

Shake Shack signed a lease for the space in November, according to Registry of Deeds documents, and will occupy the street and lower levels of the recently renovated building.

Spokesman Greg Waters would not discuss the company's plans.

"At this point, I have nothing to report," he said.

Shake Shack opened its first Bay State restaurant to long lines at The Street shopping center in Chestnut Hill in March and will hold the grand opening for its Harvard Square location at 92 Winthrop St. in Cambridge tomorrow.

"It's been exceeding our expectations," Waters said of the Chestnut Hill restaurant. "We've been extremely pleased with the response."

The Harvard Square Shake Shack opened for several hours on Dec. 24 to serve the chain's signature frozen custard, and formally opens tomorrow at 11 a.m.

Restaurateur Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group opened the first Shake Shack in New York's Madison Square Park in 2004. The Harvard Square location will be its 40th worldwide. "We love Boston and can't wait for our grand opening in Harvard Square," CEO Randy Garutti said in a statement. "Cambridge is absolutely amazing with its vibrant food culture, energized college scene, wealth of history and central location."

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Hub buildings change hands

A flurry of transactions closed a heady year for the Boston real estate market, including the sales of a rare portfolio of Boylston and Newbury street properties, One Winthrop Square and The Block on Congress.

Bethesda, Md.-based ASB Real Estate Investments paid $91.2 million for the four retail-office buildings at 801 Boylston St. and 333-335, 342 and 352 Newbury St. that total 51,249 square feet and are fully leased.

"It's aggressive pricing," said Michael Jammen, a principal at UrbanMeritage, a Boston real estate investment firm. "It's not often that a portfolio of properties comes up together on Newbury Street. The buildings are quality."

The seller was an entity formed by Irish investor Paul O'Sullivan and his U.S. business partner, John Driscoll of North Reading.

In another transaction, San Francisco's Divco-
West Real Estate Services acquired One Winthrop Square — a 114,000-square-foot office building with BNP Paribas and Boston Financial Management as major tenants — for $36 million. The seller, Munich-based GLL HRE Core Properties, had purchased it in 2009 for $21 million.

Boston's Related Beal, meanwhile, bought "The Block on Congress" from Fidelity Investments for $59.2 million, according to Registry of Deeds documents. The five buildings at the top of Post Office Square consist of about 343,000 square feet of office and retail space and include 82 Devonshire St./35 Congress St., 54 and 68 Devonshire St., and 15 and 19 Congress St.

"Rarely do you have the opportunity to reposition and reinvent an entire city block, especially one in the heart of downtown Boston," Stephen Faber, executive vice president of Related Beal, said in a statement.

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Justice delays health law's birth control mandate

WASHINGTON — Only hours before the law was to take effect, a Supreme Court justice on Tuesday blocked implementation of part of President Barack Obama's health care law that would have forced some religion-affiliated organizations to provide health insurance for employees that includes birth control.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor's decision came after a flurry of efforts by Catholic-affiliated groups from around the nation. Those groups had rushed to the federal courts to stop Wednesday's start of portions of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Sotomayor acted on a request from an organization of Catholic nuns in Denver, the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged. Its request for an emergency stay had been denied earlier in the day by a federal appeals court.

The government is "temporarily enjoined from enforcing against applicants the contraceptive coverage requirements imposed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," Sotomayor said in the order.

Sotomayor, who was in New York Tuesday night to lead the final 60-second countdown and push the ceremonial button to signal the descent of the Times Square New Year's Eve ball, gave government officials until 10 a.m. EST Friday to respond to her order.

The law requires employers to provide insurance that covers a range of preventive care, free of charge, including contraception. The Catholic Church prohibits the use of contraceptives.

The Obama administration crafted a compromise, or accommodation, that attempted to create a buffer for religiously affiliated hospitals, universities and social service groups that oppose birth control. The law requires insurers or the health plan's outside administrator to pay for birth control coverage and creates a way to reimburse them.

But for that to work, the nuns would have to sign a form authorizing their insurance company to provide contraceptive coverage, which would still violate their beliefs, argued their attorney, Mark Rienzi.

"Without an emergency injunction, Mother Provincial Loraine Marie Maguire has to decide between two courses of action: (a) sign and submit a self-certification form, thereby violating her religious beliefs; or (b) refuse to sign the form and pay ruinous fines," Rienzi said.

The White House did not comment on the order Tuesday night. In a statement Tuesday night, Rienzi said he was delighted by Sotomayor's order. "The government has lots of ways to deliver contraceptives to people," he said. "It doesn't need to force nuns to participate."

Sotomayor's decision to delay the contraceptive portion of the law was joined by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which also issued an emergency stay for Catholic-affiliated groups challenging the contraceptive provision, including the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and Catholic University. But one judge on the three-judge panel that made the decision, Judge David S. Tatel, said he would have denied their motion.

"Because I believe that appellants are unlikely to prevail on their claim that the challenged provision imposes a 'substantial burden' under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, I would deny their application for an injunction pending appeal," Tatel said.

The archdiocese praised the appeals court's action in a statement.

"This action by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is in line with the rulings of courts all across the country which have held that the HHS mandate imposes a substantial and impermissible burden on the free exercise of religion," the archdiocese said. "These decisions also vindicate the pledge of the U.S. Catholic bishops to stand united in resolute defense of the first and most sacred freedom - religious liberty."

The Supreme Court already has decided to rule on whether businesses may use religious objections to escape a requirement to cover birth control for employees. That case, which involves Hobby Lobby Inc., an Oklahoma City-based arts and crafts chain with 13,000 full-time employees, is expected to be argued in March and decided by summer.

___

Follow Jesse J. Holland on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jessejholland.

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Lavish parties, uninhibited tourists rule in Vegas

LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas held one its biggest ever New Year's Eve celebrations, with sold-out concerts and an eight-minute long fireworks show that was billed as the largest in the country.

Big-ticket musical acts Bruno Mars, John Legend and Maroon 5 helped lure 335,000 visitors to Las Vegas by nightfall on Tuesday — 5,000 more than last year, tourism officials said.

Thousands celebrated late Tuesday and early Wednesday along the Las Vegas Strip and across town at the Fremont Street Experience, where Mayor Carolyn Goodman and her husband, former mayor Oscar Goodman, were on hand.

Party-goers cheered in anticipation at 10 minutes before midnight, and then again with five minutes to go, then watched as the fireworks were launched from the rooftops of seven hotel-casinos.

The holiday was seemingly custom-made to align with Sin City's boozy, bad-judgment ethos.

The Minus5 Ice Bar Mandalay Bay started handing out free champagne for hourly toasts at 11 a.m. Tourists were seen toting novelty drinks into casinos by noon.

For Lester Arnold, 50, the desert weather made Las Vegas the obvious place to ring in the New Year. Temperatures dropped from 60 to 40 degrees as the sun set.

"There are people outside here. It's minus twenty in Springfield and there's no party there," the Massachusetts native said, sipping from a red Solo cup full to the brim with champagne as nearly naked showgirls strutted past.

A Gene Simmons impersonator sat in a motorized scooter nearby, wagging his tongue at tourists in novelty hats.

Police shut down traffic on the Las Vegas Strip at 6 p.m. so revelers could spill into the 4-mile stretch of road normally packed with cars.

Randy and Patty Harkin, of Salt Lake City, were dressed in their finest. The couple had just eloped at the Stained Glass Chapel, on the anniversary of their first kiss.

"I called my mom and was like, 'We're married now, and happy New Year," Randy Harkin said.

Law enforcement officers were keeping a close eye on the festivities.

Hotels were dealing a full house, with occupancy approaching 100 percent and $200 rooms going for $600. New Year's Eve is typically the most profitable night of the year for casinos, and their executives worked to persuade visitors to make it a long weekend.

Many casinos offered up special "New Year's Eve Eve" events on Monday and advertised the two days before that as the biggest weekend of the year. DJs were counting down to 2014 as early as Sunday at the Mirage hotel-casino's 1OAK club.

Las Vegas was light this year on hosted nightclub bashes in which guests pay for proximity to a famous person. Original celebutante Paris Hilton was hosting one of the only such parties.

New Year's Eve crowds in the city have doubled since 1990 but still lag other parties in New York City's Times Square and Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro.

In seedier downtown Las Vegas at the Fremont Street Experience pedestrian mall, organizers held a block party that featured Blues Traveler and Papa Roach. Some revelers were disappointed to learn that they had to pay $40 to get in.

Grace Champion, 25, had come with her husband from Wasilla, Alaska. The couple bought their own yard-long plastic drink cups for 99 cents and was saving money by getting them refilled inside casinos.

Her hope for the New Year was that it would bring her a job. Her goal for the night: catch a glimpse of Papa Roach.

___

Hannah Dreier can be reached at http://twitter.com/hannahdreier.

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Drone research funds to fly into Bay State

The announcement of six states that will host testing areas for commercial drones is a significant step toward approving unmanned aircraft in U.S. skies, experts said, and will pay dividends for Massachusetts — even though the Bay State isn't on the list.

The FAA announced yesterday that Alaska, Nevada, North Dakota, Texas, Virginia and New York will host research sites for drones, but the New York site, at Griffiss International Airport, will be run by an alliance of organizations from New York and Massachusetts, including Joint Base Cape Cod.

"It's a great economic opportunity because it will mean jobs," said Missy Cummings, a professor at MIT and a drone expert.

"This selection recognizes the importance of Massachusetts' military installations and our special role as an innovation hub," Sen. Edward J. Markey said in a statement.

Markey has filed a bill that would require the FAA to enact privacy guidelines before allowing drones to take to the skies.

"These test sites will give us valuable information about how best to ensure the safe introduction of this advanced technology into our nation's skies," transportation secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement.

The FAA is scheduled to put the regulations in place by 2015, but that is not likely to happen, Cummings said.

"The FAA is not known to move fast," she said.

The regulations, whenever they are finalized, will allow commercial drones like those that Amazon proposed to be used for package delivery, as shown in an attention-grabbing CBS "60 Minutes" segment, and would also have larger possibilities, like search and rescue and agricultural uses, Cummings said.

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The Ticker

Technical glitches dog 
Mass. jobless website

Technological glitches are plaguing yet another state-operated website ­— the Massachusetts unemployment system.

Users are reporting problems accessing both the phone line and website to file weekly unemployment claims with the Massachusetts Division of Unemployment Assistance. One user told the Herald he receives error messages on the site and is disconnected when trying to call via phone.

The state acknowledged the technological issues on its website yesterday and told the Herald it will extend the hours of its call center tonight.

Bain Capital buys big stake in Bob's

Boston's Bain Capital has an agreement to buy a majority stake in Manchester, Conn.-based Bob's Discount Furniture for undisclosed terms from fellow private equity firms Karp Reilly and Apax Partners. Bob's has 47 stores in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, including 10 in Massachusetts. Its management team will continue to own a "significant" stake in the 22-year-old company, and CEO Ted English will continue in his role. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.

Wholesale Liquidators driving event

National Wholesale Liquidators, which operates several stores, including one in Dorchester, is emphasizing safe driving tonight in a special event aimed at reminding motorists how to protect themselves while enjoying the holiday.

The "Designate a Driver" campaign will provide safety tips in a handout to customers and a special YouTube video. "Promoting safe driving can save lives," said Scott Rosen, president and CEO of NWL. "I hope the emphasis we put on safety this year can prevent a tragedy. Safety is our goal."

Today

 Standard & Poor's releases S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices for October.

 The Conference Board releases the Consumer Confidence Index for December

TOMORROW

 Stock and bond markets are closed for New Year's Day.

THE SHUFFLE

Kirkland Albrecht & Fredrickson, a CPA firm based in Braintree, has announced that Joshua Sircar, left, has joined the company as a staff accountant. In this role, he will prepare compilations and reviews, in addition to the preparation of taxes for corporations, partnerships and high-net-worth individuals.

 TD Bank has named Amber J. Howe as a senior vice president based in Braintree. She will provide strategic human resources support to the chief information officer and manage the team of HR personnel who support technology services.

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Mass. home sales slide in Nov.

There was a slight chill in the Massachusetts housing market last month.

November saw the first year-over-year decline in single-family home sales — and the fewest number of monthly sales — since April, driven by a tight supply of available properties and rising interest rates.

Sales fell 2 percent compared to November of 2012, according to data released yesterday by the Warren Group, the Boston publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

The median sales price for single-family homes, meanwhile, climbed 4 percent to $307,000, for the 14th straight month of year-over-year increases.

"The low inventory of homes for sale is affecting the number of sales, because people who are eager to buy are not finding much to their liking," Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. said. And while historically low, interest rates have been rising since May.

Single-family homes for sale as of Nov. 30 numbered 18,428, down 20.6 percent compared to the same month last year — marking the 21st consecutive month of inventory decreases.

And, unlike some buyers during the mid-2000s inventory shortage who purchased homes beyond their financial means, buyers today aren't willing to make that leap, according to MAR president Kimberly Allard-Moccia, broker-owner of Century 21 Professionals in Braintree.

"They're not interested in repeating past mistakes, and the lending requirements are far more strict now," she said. "Even if a buyer wanted to overpay for a property, or get involved in a multiple bid situation, their lender may not approve the loan."

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Shares mixed in thin New Year's Eve trading

TOKYO — Shares were mixed Tuesday in thin pre-holiday trading, with early gains in some markets succumbing to selling pressure as roller-coaster 2013 wound to a close.

The French and British markets, which will trade for a half day on Tuesday, started on a positive note. The CAC-40 rose 0.2 percent to 4,284.83 and the FTSE 100 inched up 0.1 percent to 6,738.10.

Germany's DAX was closed for the holiday.

Futures suggested potentially modest New Year's Eve gains on Wall Street. Dow Jones futures rose 0.04 percent while S&P 500 futures gained 0.03 percent.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.3 percent to close at 23,306.39 in a half-day session, buoyed by buying of mainland China-based banks and energy companies. Shares in Shanghai and Shenzhen also rebounded from early losses.

Elsewhere in Asia, share prices rose in Malaysia, Singapore and India but fell in Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.

Markets were closed in Japan and other Asian markets for the New Year holiday.

The Tokyo benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index rose 0.7 percent Monday to end 2013 at its highest level in more than six years, having gained 56.7 percent in 2013 — the biggest annual gain in 41 years.

In foreign exchange markets, the dollar was virtually unchanged at 104.95 Japanese yen, while the euro slipped 0.08 percent to $1.379.

The price of crude oil dipped back below $100, with the benchmark U.S. contract for February delivery down 10 cents at $99.19 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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What’s on tap for 2014

Local techies say 2014 is set to be another banner year for the Boston area. Here are some companies and trends to watch out for in the next 12 months.

Companies on the rise:

• Care.com filed for an IPO earlier this month, seeking to raise $80 million. The Waltham-based company has grown to 9.1 million members.

• Cambridge marketing software company HubSpot has long been the subject of IPO rumors while raising around $100 million. Executives have not been shy about their intentions to go public, and this could be the year.

Emerging trends:

• Bolt.io founder Ben Einstein: "It's going to be the year of hardware."

• Andy Palmer: "EHealth is erupting."

• John Harthorne: "There is huge excitement around 3-D printing."

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Air resuscitates speaker accessories

DockBoss Air ($34.95, Amazon.com or CableJive
.com)

What to do with those old Apple speaker docks? The answer is dockBoss Air, a little dongle that rescues your old iPhone or iPod speaker accessory (before those so-called lightning connectors became standard) from the trash heap by turning it into a Bluetooth receiver.

The good: DockBoss Air could not have been easier to use. I placed it on my old 30-pin speaker dock — an excellent, expensive system that now sits idle on my shelf — and it 
immediately paired with my iPhone 5s via Bluetooth. An added bonus is that the company who makes this handy device is based right here in Malden.

The bad: Perhaps that you won't be spending your hard-earned cash on an Apple lightning adapter? Other than that, nothing to see here!

The bottom line: The price of the dockBoss Air is comparable to a cable adapter, but it works with any Bluetooth device, not just Apple products. This is a must-have for anyone whose old speaker dock is collecting dust due to a recent upgrade.

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