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Image courtesy of Sasaki
The developer of an 18-story office building in Boston’s Seaport District is adding lab-ready designs to reflect the changes COVID-19 has forced in the commercial real estate market.
Boston Global Investors now plans to construct lab-ready infrastructure on the third through ninth floors of 401 Congress St., requiring the elimination of one floor to accommodate the bigger floor-to-floor heights required by life science uses.
“The proponent is seeking this modification in response to recent trends in real estate markets which currently favor life science uses over more limited demand for office use in light of the uncertain long-term impacts of the pandemic,” BGI Project Executive John Hynes IV wrote in a letter to the Boston Planning and Development Agency.
The redesign eliminates one floor and shrinks the building from 573,000 to 518,500 square feet.
Life science properties have accounted for most of the major leases in Greater Boston since the onset of COVID-19 prompted most office employers to switch to work-from-home arrangements. CRISPR Therapeutics signed a 12-year lease to occupy all 263,500 square feet at The 105, a speculative lab building in South Boston being developed by Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital. And Bristol-Myers Squibb is consolidating its local R&D operations at DivcoWest’s Cambridge Crossing after leasing 360,000 square feet at 250 Water St.
In 2019, Massport selected a BGI-led team as designated developer of its parcel A-2, a surface parking lot near World Trade Center station on the MBTA’s Silver Line. Other members of the joint venture include EDGE Technologies, Bastion Companies and The Cogsville Group.
The development also includes a two-story building on a separate parcel between two Massachusetts Turnpike ramps connecting to Congress Street.
The Boston Civic Design Commission recently approved the design of the tower, including a 2-story public Great Hall with retail space and cultural programming, and a pedestrian bridge connecting to the second building.
