Image courtesy of BioMed Realty

A new Cambridge-based nonprofit will lead the programming of performing arts space at a new office-lab building proposed by BioMed Realty in Kendall Square.

585 Arts is raising funds to present over 100 nights of programming a year at 585 Third St., a 16-story, 550,000-square-foot tower that will include a 300-seat theater.

The nonprofit will focus on performances by people of color and local performers as it manages the use of 30,000 square feet of public arts space at the complex, replacing a vacant lot in the heart of the biotech cluster. Another 200-plus nights per year will be made available to other artists and cultural organizations, BioMed announced this week.

Global Arts Live, a Cambridge-based arts non-profit, is overseeing the formation of the new organization and its fundraising. The group was founded in 1990 by Maure Aronson, a former manager of Boston dance companies Beth Soll & Co. and Concert Dance Co., and the group added its CRASHarts performing arts series in 2001.

Life science developer BioMed agreed to incorporate a substantial performing arts space in the development, where a previous owner had failed to move forward with a proposed arts center. BioMed acquired the 0.8-acre property for $50.5 million in 2018.

Community members asked BioMed to include rehearsal and performance space and exhibit areas to offset the displacement of cultural tenants as commercial rents rise to record levels in East Cambridge. CBT Architects designed the complex including a 10,000-square-foot ground-floor public arts space, and outdoor areas also have been designated for arts and cultural uses.

In December, the Cambridge city council rezoned the property, clearing the way for BioMed to proceed with its special permit application to the planning board.

The project is projected for completion in 2025.