Harvard University’s latest development plans in Allston arrive at the perfect time for makerspace Artisan’s Asylum, as it faces an expiring lease for its Somerville home.
The university is leasing a combined 52,000 square feet at a pair of its Allston properties to the group and reserving additional ground-floor space at Berkeley Investments’ proposed 176 Lincoln St. development. With more room to operate at a pair of Harvard-owned buildings on Antwerp and Holton streets, Artisan’s Asylum plans to expand its shared work and makerspaces and add new teaching space and meeting areas, Executive Director Lars Hasselblad Torres said. The relocation is scheduled to begin late this year.
A third location is proposed as part of the 176 Lincoln St. project, in which Boston-based Berkeley Investments proposes 548,000 square feet of office and lab space and 314 apartments at a long-dormant development site that’s ground-leased from Harvard University. Artisan’s Asylum will occupy approximately 10,000 square feet of ground-floor space, said Morgan Pierson, director of development for Berkeley Investments.
While many office landlords have recently focused on attracting unique ground-floor tenants, the life science development boom is just starting to embrace the strategy, he said.
“One of the things we’ve been talking about internally is watching how much office space has evolved to have a much higher level of amenities, and life science has been left out,” Pierson said. “The old thinking is the people who are in lab coats all day are not having the same needs, and that’s not correct.”
Low-cost studio space for artisans is disappearing in the urban core as industrial properties continue to be acquired by developers of multifamily housing and distribution space. Artisan’s Asylum faced few attractive options to replace its 42,000-square-foot Somerville location, but Harvard offered “highly realistic terms,” Torres said in an email.
Berkeley Investments toured Artisan’s Asylum’s Somerville property two years ago and immediately considered the group to be a desirable future tenant, Pierson said. Founded in 2010, the nonprofit currently has 160 artist members who rent studios and have shared access to equipment including 3D printing, woodworking and screen printing.
Artisan’s Asylum required a large and flexible space to accommodate its diverse mix of artisans and makers, ranging from graphic artists to welders, making the former warehouse at 55 Antwerp St. a good fit for the first phase of a mini-campus in Allston, Pierson said.
“Our team always wanted to include arts of all kinds within the project and make it more dynamic, so it felt like a tremendous fit,” he said.
Editor’s note: This report has been updated to clarify that Berkeley Investments ground-leases the 176 Lincoln St. property from Harvard University.
