BioSquare opens new office and lab space
Green building hosts bioengineering and other research operations
Boston University, Boston Medical Center, and developer Spaulding & Slye Colliers hosted a ceremony yesterday celebrating the opening of a new building at BioSquare in Boston’s South End. The eight-story, 160,000-square-foot laboratory is the third component of the two-million-square-foot biomedical research park.
“BioSquare is a thriving development, as this latest addition to its state-of-the-art biomedical research facilities affirms,” said University President Robert Brown. “Boston University is proud to partner with the city of Boston and with Boston Medical Center in helping to grow this important sector of our local and regional economies.”
Among the more than 100 attending were Brown, Boston Redevelopment Authority Director Mark Maloney, Boston Medical Center President and CEO Elaine Ullian, and Medical Campus Provost and School of Medicine Dean Karen Antman. John Duffy, Spaulding & Slye Colliers senior vice president and project manager, was master of ceremonies for the luncheon event.
The building, at 670 Albany St., has a modern, contemporary look and was designed with life-science uses in mind, using green building design elements such as high-energy-efficient glass, a stainless steel panel, and a precast façade. The 300-seat auditorium is equipped with audiovisual and teleconferencing systems. The interior features flexible, highly efficient 20,000-square-foot floor plates. Designed by Stubbins Associates, Inc., it will be the first LEED Certified Core and Shell Green Building in the Northeast. Certification is expected in early 2006.
A 1,400-car aboveground parking garage is under construction next to the building. BU and BMC lease 70 percent of the space for uses including research in pathology and bioengineering. The balance will be leased to third-party tenants. The building is owned by 670 Albany Street 2004 LLC. Spaulding & Slye Colliers is the development manager, leasing agent, property manager, and construction manager. The general contractor is Spaulding & Slye Construction.
BioSquare, Boston’s largest biotech park, is a 14-acre state-of-the-art biomedical research and business park currently under development directly adjacent to Boston University Medical Center. It is designed to support innovation in biomedical research and science and promote novel partnerships between academia and industry.
BioSquare tenants have access to an array of biomedical research equipment and services, such as an animal research facility, a functional MRI facility, a cardiovascular imaging suite, a transgenic facility, a mass spectrometry resource facility, and other general business services. Currently, BioSquare consists of the Center for Advanced Biomedical Research, the Evans Biomedical Research Center, and a 1,000-car parking garage with some office space. Tenants include: CombinatoRx, Inc., Pulmatrix, NitroMed, Adipogenix, and MassMedic. Future plans include building the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories and an additional 1,400-car parking facility.
“Mayor Menino, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, and the city of Boston’s cooperation, support, and vision throughout the building’s design and development have shaped the development of BioSquare,” said Duffy. “Together their foresight has also been a major catalyst in the revitalization of the South End.”