CAMBRIDGE, MA—DivcoWest, whose real estate portfolio includes existing and development properties in office, R&D, lab, industrial, retail and multifamily, said that Sanofi’s giant lease solidifies Cambridge Crossing’s position as an epicenter for life sciences companies.
Pharmaceutical giant Sanofi announced this week that it will lease two new buildings, totaling 900,000 square feet of space at the Cambridge Crossing development in East Cambridge. Cambridge Crossing, known as CX, is a 45-acre mixed use development site owned by DivcoWest spanning Cambridge, Somerville and Boston (formerly NorthPoint).
Earlier this year, international health technology giant Philips signed a long-term lease for 243,000 square feet and will relocate its innovation and commercial health care technology teams from Andover, MA as well as its existing Cambridge-based North American Research Center to the new building.
“CX has experienced significant momentum since breaking ground in October 2017 and is pleased to see this innovation-driven community move into its next phase of development with world-class tenants,” DivcoWest said in a statement.
DivcoWest said that this news is a step forward for Cambridge Crossing as the company looks to fulfill its collective goal to design and create a vibrant, state-of-the-art mixed-use community, authentically integrated into the East Cambridge neighborhood and for the benefit of the surrounding area.
“While further solidifying CX’s position as an epicenter for life sciences in Kendall Square and the region, this news accelerates and supports the vitality of the public realm at CX and the heart of the neighborhood that will include new local retail and activated open and green spaces alongside 2,400 future residential units, adding to the 2,500 existing in the immediate area, all designed to amplify work and life at CX and in the Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston communities,” the statement said.
The statement said that the first phase of the development is expected to open in Q1 2020, with Philips bringing its North American Innovation Center to CX and simultaneously the central retail core will deliver with a new restaurant, café, rooftop bar, brewery, and enhanced open and green spaces.
“Upon completion Cambridge Crossing is expected to be a one-of-a kind mixed-use neighborhood in New England where innovation and inspiration thrive,” the statement said.
Formerly a rail yard, CX will be a new mixed-use neighborhood with research facilities, residential units, and retail amenities in a compact, walkable, and transit- and bicycle-friendly plan that will become an integral part of the existing East Cambridge neighborhood.
The site will be directly served by two MBTA transit lines including the new Lechmere Station, part of the Green Line Extension which recently received a notice to proceed by the Federal Government.
Cambridge Crossing is adjacent to Kendall Square and centered within one of the highest concentrations of talent and intellectual capital in the world.
At full build-out, CX will be comprised of approximately 2.1 million square feet of state-of-the-art science and technology space, approximately 2,400 new residential units in addition to approximately 2,500 existing units, and approximately 100,000 square feet of retail thoughtfully curated to deliver a unique and local neighborhood experience. The project will also include approximately 11 acres of activated public open spaces, highlighted by a central common area.
