Alexandria Signs 187 KSF of Life-Science Office Leases Near Boston

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Metropolitan Boston continues to bustle and Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. is profiting from the activity, having just closed six leases totaling approximately 187,000 square feet at its Alexandria Park at 128 complex in suburban Boston’s Route 128 submarket.

Commercial real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. marketed Alexandria Park on Alexandria Real Estate’s behalf and represented the life-sciences REIT in the lease transactions. According to the JLL’s latest life-sciences report, Boston holds first place on the list of the country’s 16 life sciences hubs.

“Companies are currently using low-cost locations in emerging global markets to support business in higher-cost clusters,” Don Domoretsky, vice president with JLL, told Commercial Property Executive. “With the drive for discovery and innovation causing a rebalancing of operations, the Boston market continues to benefit from this dynamic.”

Alexandria Real Estate owns and operates a portfolio of approximately 3.5 million square feet of premier laboratory and office space in metropolitan Boston. The REIT’s Alexandria Park property is a collection of eight buildings accounting for an aggregate 345,000 square feet of science and technology space straddling the cities of Bedford and Lexington.

The largest of the six long-term leases was QD Vision Inc.’s relocation and expansion to a 59,000-square-foot space in the park’s building at 29 Hartwell Ave. in Lexington. Another new lease agreement involved 1366 Technologies Inc.’s commitment to nearly 41,100 square feet at 6-8 Preston Ct. in Bedford, for the company’s expansion and relocation. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation grabbed an approximately 6,600-square-foot laboratory suite at 3 Preston Ct., in Bedford, where Emerald BioStructures also made a deal, taking 6,700 square feet. The group of leases also includes two renewals. Microbia Inc. will continue to occupy 40,000 square feet at 60 Westview St. in Lexington, and Life Technologies Corp. extended its stay in roughly 28,600 square feet at 35 Wiggins Ave. in Bedford.

The new lease agreements have boosted the occupancy level for Alexandria Real Estate’s portfolio in the Route 128 submarket to 95.2 percent. The entire submarket is faring well. As per a first quarter report by commercial real estate services firm Richards Barry Joyce & Partners L.L.C., the vacancy rate is presently at its lowest level since 2001, with users having absorbed 1.6 million square feet over the last nine quarters. For trophy properties in the submarket, the vacancy rate is a respectable 8.5 percent.