BioMed Lands New Tenant in Boston’s Kendall Square

By Veronica Grecu

500 Kendall St., Boston

Boston—A biotechnology company and subsidiary of Dublin-based Shire Plc is expanding its footprint in Boston with a 12-year lease in the heart of Kendall Square.

Shire Human Genetic Therapies recently signed a 12-year lease agreement with BioMed Realty for 343,000 square feet of office space at 500 Kendall St. in Cambridge.

“We’re extremely pleased that Shire is expanding its Cambridge presence with us as a continued real estate partner,” said Tim Schoen, CEO & president of BioMed Realty, in prepared remarks. “500 Kendall Street is one of our most well-known buildings, with its unmatched location in the heart of Kendall Square, providing the ideal space and location for a leading global company like Shire to continue its growth.”

The new lease is an expansion of Shire’s existing presence at BioMed Realty’s 650 E. Kendall St.—where the biotech company occupies roughly 206,000 square feet of space—and will support the company’s longer-term growth plans in the area. Shire is set to move into the new space in early 2019, once Genzyme’s current lease expires.

Ideally situated near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and in the heart of Cambridge’s thriving life science community, the 12-story, 349,325-square-foot building was developed in 2002 as the corporate headquarters of Genzyme Corp. The environmentally advanced building was recognized as a Platinum Rated LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Compliant Building, the highest rating possible for Green Buildings. The building is owned by BioMed Realty, which owns and operates approximately 2.6 million of rentable square feet of office and lab space in Cambridge.

The new lease and the space it already occupies at 650 E. Kendall St. will enable Shire to create a cross-disciplinary campus with departments spanning research, clinical development, medical affairs, business development and other related functions.

Image courtesy of BioMed Realty