CAMBRIDGE, MA–BioMed Realty is pursuing a zoning amendment that would allow the development of a taller, modern life sciences building at 320 Charles Street in Cambridge, adjacent to Ahern Field. As first reported by Boston Business Journal reporter Hannah Green, the proposed redevelopment would replace a now-vacant 105,000-square-foot building formerly leased to the Broad Institute.
According to BBJ, BioMed has filed a petition to create a new zoning area called the “East Cambridge Community Enhancement Overlay District.” The requested changes would enable the company to expand the site’s footprint to 295,000 square feet and build up to 65 feet high — the equivalent of four stories — through a special permit process.
“The Broad recently left the space,” BioMed noted in its petition, and it has not been able to re-lease the site due to the “building’s obsolescence,” BBJ reported.
As part of its proposal, BioMed is committing to several community contributions. These include a $21.2 million donation to East End House to support its relocation, $500,000 to enhance Ahern Field and the Kennedy-Longfellow School playground, and $50,000 each for neighborhood planning feasibility studies and the East Cambridge Scholarship Fund, BBJ reported.
In its petition, BioMed stated that the new overlay district would help “facilitate the conversion of older industrial properties into more environmentally friendly, sustainable structures consistent with current City standards,” according to BBJ.
The site at 320 Charles Street carries historical and scientific significance. As BBJ noted, the building was constructed in 1952 as a beer distribution center, underwent its last renovation in 2007, and later became the site of the first Human Genome Project and a national Covid-19 diagnostic testing center.
Salvatore Zinno, senior vice president of development at BioMed, told BBJ: “The proposed redevelopment aims to deliver meaningful community benefits, including substantial funding for East Cambridge organizations and more open space, while delivering the flexibility to design a state-of-the-art facility for the evolving needs of our tenants.”
Cambridge’s Ordinance Committee was scheduled to review the petition on Tuesday, May 20, according to BBJ.
