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Image courtesy of MassDOT
Six developers have submitted proposals for a state-owned parcel at the doorstep to downtown Boston, and in keeping with the dominant trend in local commercial real estate, five include a lab component.
The teams include the biggest local landlords in the life science industry – Alexandria Real Estate Equities and BioMed Realty – along with local and national developers making their first forays into the local biotech market.
MassDOT released a summary of the six proposals for parcel 25 in response to a request from Banker & Tradesman, but not the full submissions. The highest density life science use is proposed by BioMed, which seeks to build 736,000 square feet of lab space on the 1.4-acre parcel next to the southbound exit portal of the O’Neill Tunnel.
The request for proposals asked developers to include a substantial affordable housing component along with minority participation in the project teams. The five other proposals all include housing.
Brookfield Properties, in partnership with The Menkiti Group, Hudson Group and Rise Together, propose 300,000 square feet of R&D space along with 302 residential units.
Trinity Financial partnered with Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center in proposing 394 housing units and 13,000 square feet of retail and community space.
A team including National Development, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Asian Community Development Corp. and Alinea Capital Partners proposes 330,000 square feet of lab space and 93 residential units.
The Peebles Corp. and Genesis Cos. submitted plans for 309,000 square feet of lab space and 218 residential units.
And Lawrence-based Lupoli Cos., known for its mill conversions and other developments in the Merrimack Valley, is making a foray into downtown Boston projects with a proposed 362,000-square-foot lab complex and 153 residential units.
The 1.4-acre parcel 25 site just south of Kneeland Street includes two vacant lots owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the city of Boston, and an air rights portion located above the southbound lanes of Interstate 93.
According to the RFP, buildings on the vacant parcel could be approved for heights up to 300 feet. Developers were asked to submit proposals under the terms of a 99-year ground lease.
