BOSTON– The Davis Companies closed on a joint venture agreement with Boston Development Group (“BDG”) to co-develop 66 Galen Street, Phase 1 of a purpose-built Class A life science campus in Watertown, MA located on a five-acre site fronting on Galen Street, a highly traveled thoroughfare connecting Watertown Square to the Massachusetts Turnpike/I-90.
Upon final buildout the campus will include more than 450,000 square feet of research and lab space in two buildings. Phase I will break ground in May, 2021.
Planned in close collaboration with the Town of Watertown, 66 Galen Street will address the growing need for quality life science space as short supply in Cambridge and Boston has prompted companies to search beyond traditional urban markets. Watertown, bordering Cambridge, is a prime location for research and lab facilities having grown a vibrant life science cluster and benefiting from significant life science company demand in the surrounding area.
“We are excited to be in partnership with Boston Development Group developing 66 Galen Street to meet the growing demands for Class-A, purpose-built lab space in Watertown,” said Mike Cantalupa, Chief Development Officer of The Davis Companies. “With historically low vacancy rates in the East Cambridge/Kendall Square market pushing some companies to look elsewhere for space, we believe that innovative life science companies will find real value in 66 Galen. Our location and the surrounding biotech cluster benefit from excellent transportation access and expansion alternatives along with the substantial open spaces accessible throughout the building, on the site and along the adjacent Charles River.”
“Given The Davis Companies’ success and experience in life science development, we are pleased to have the opportunity to partner with them on this project,” said Jodie Zussman, President of BDG. “The expertise of our two firms, along with the incredible work done to date by Elkus Manfredi Architects and John Moriarity & Associates, will ensure the future of 66 Galen Street as a destination for companies looking for thoughtfully designed lab facilities in a park-like setting.” The project team for the new development also includes mechanical/electrical/plumbing designers WSP, McNamara & Salvia (structural engineers), VHB (site/civil designers), DENS Facility Services, and landscape architect, Ground.
Phase I of 66 Galen Street will be a 224,106-square-foot, Class A, inner suburban lab building that will be LEED Gold certified upon completion. One of the distinguishing factors of the project is its significant upgrade of the public realm along the Galen Street corridor. Forty percent of the site will be dedicated to parks and green spaces, and substantial transportation infrastructure improvements – including traffic signalization, lane widenings, dedicated bus lanes and sidewalks – will be completed with the project.
Designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects, the building will include five private tenant outdoor spaces with panoramic views of the Charles River and high-end amenity spaces, including a fitness center, locker rooms with showers, a 45-space bike room, on-site retail/café space, a hotel-style building lobby, and ample indoor parking.
Located on the highly visible Galen Street corridor connecting Watertown Square to the Massachusetts Turnpike/I-90, 66 Galen Street provides 10-minute access to Downtown Boston and easy access to Kendall Square (15 minutes) via I-90 or Soldiers Field Road. The site is easily accessible from a variety of desirable residential communities including Boston’s urban core and its western suburbs.
The Davis Companies is a vertically integrated real estate investment, development and management firm headquartered in Boston that has invested more than $7.2 billion in gross asset value through real estate equity, debt and fixed-income securities. A combination of capital markets, development and management expertise allows The Davis Companies to nimbly tackle complex opportunities. Directly, and with its valued partners, The Davis Companies currently owns a real estate portfolio of approximately 11.8 million square feet of office, retail, hospitality, light industrial, healthcare and life science properties and approximately 4,000 residential units across the Eastern United States.
Boston Development Group is a family run business made up of privately held real estate companies based in Massachusetts. Founded over sixty years ago, BDG has expanded on its early visionary role as a residential developer and builder to become a dynamic, multi-faceted real estate organization. The company has grown into a well-respected leader in the field of Real Estate, specializing in the acquisition, development and management of commercial and residential properties. BDG’s expertise encompasses land acquisition, design, construction, rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of buildings, as well as property management, leasing and sales. As the company moves into the future, Boston Development Group continues to build on its fundamental strengths and creative abilities. BDG has an impressive real estate portfolio that includes prominent commercial, retail and residential properties throughout Massachusetts. The Company also has developed, owned and managed hotels and retirement facilities. In addition to real estate development and ownership, the firm markets, leases and manages all properties within its current portfolio.
