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Image courtesy of The Davis Cos.
The Davis Cos. plans to break ground on the next 155,000-square-foot phase of its Quad campus in early 2021 after attracting South Boston-based Ginkgo Bioworks to the West Cambridge portfolio.
Ginkgo Bioworks leased 38,759 square feet of office and lab space at 10 Wilson Road, bringing the recently updated space at 75 Moulton St. and 10 Wilson Road up to capacity. Two additional phases of development are planned, including a 155,000-square-foot lab building at 101 Smith Place in early 2021 and another 248,000 square feet at 40 Smith Place beginning in 2023.
Ginkgo Bioworks has raised $400 million in venture capital and National Institute of Health funding since late 2019, including a $40 million NIH contract in July to expand its automated COVID testing platform.
CBRE’s McKenna K. Teague and Erick Smith represented The Davis Cos. in the lease negotiation, while Columbua Group Realty Advisors’ Anne Columbia and Patrick Downey represented Ginkgo Bioworks.
Ginkgo Bioworks joins existing Quad tenants Civetta Therapeutics, Invaio Sciences, Hyperion and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
The Quad, a flex and industrial submarket near the MBTA’s Alewife station, is attracting investment from multifamily, office and lab developers following a similar transformation of Cambridgepark Drive. Davis Cos. redeveloped 35 Cambridgepark Drive as the Alewife Research Center and sold the property to Healthpeak Properties for $332.5 million last year.
With redevelopment opportunities dwindling, developers are focusing on opportunities in the Quad section on the opposite side of the MBTA commuter rail. Boston-based Cabot, Cabot & Forbes is seeking approval for a 1.1-million-square-foot mixed-use development on Mooney Street, and recently acquired another 4-acre property at 67 Smith Place.
And life science developer IQHQ this year has acquired a group of properties including the GCP Applied Technologies campus to create a 27-acre development site off Whittemore Avenue.
