On March 11th CREW Boston enjoyed a virtual tour of Bulfinch’s Cambridge Discovery Park, a 27-acre first-class lab and office campus in Alewife’s life science cluster in Cambridge, MA. We heard from project team panelists Mike Wilcox, Director of Leasing at Bulfinch; Molly Heath, Managing Director at JLL; and Eric Weyant, Principal at Stantec on the history of the Arthur D. Little site and its revitalization into a world-class campus, providing a desirable destination for office and lab tenants while including the restoration and preservation of neighboring wetlands and wooded areas. 

One of the reasons that this project has been such a success is that tenants want to be part of an established cluster, and West Cambridge is 1.5 million SF and growing. It’s a location where companies can recruit crucial talent and appeal to a broader employee population (both drivers and T commuters) while maintaining proximity to East Cambridge. Current tenants in the park include Forrester, Fog Pharma, Life Mine, Simcere, Senda Biosciences, Smithsonian and Genocea. 

Speed to occupancy has been crucial to the Project’s success: 82% of tenants need to be in space within twelve months of when they start their search, though in reality the majority really need the space in six to nine months. With a state-of-the-art base-building design, Bulfinch encourages a TI/construction period that moves as quickly as possible and supports tenants’ scientific needs once they are in the space. Expansion opportunity is also critical – tenants have the ability to grow within the park. 

Bullfinch has also been thoughtful about their amenity strategy in catering to scientific tenants: CDP amenities support productivity, physical and mental health, such as natural light into office and open lab, multiple full-service fitness rooms with class studio, bike sharing, private and common outdoor dining and decks, electric car charging stations, a hotel, 27 acres of green space including a bike path and numerous walking trails, and a Kindercare within walking distance of the Park. Decision makers feel positive about their people being in CDP; it’s a fresh, inspirational, and inclusive workplace with neighborhood amenities. Today this slice of nature in Cambridge is not just an amenity for tenants themselves: having more residents nearby has truly activated the neighborhood and you will find dogs and strollers interacting with the office population and enjoying the green space.  

The panel also discussed market trends that informed their design and marketing strategies at the campus. There is currently over 3.5 million SF of life-sciences tenant demand in a supply-constrained market and they are seeing tenants from all geographies. This demand has spawned tremendous rent growth: 25% growth from the first deal signed at CDP to the most recent commitment. Due to increasing research collaborations and growing drug pipelines, Bullfinch does not anticipate any reduction in demand from these companies. Even Covid did not slow the leasing: the buildings stayed open and Bulfinch was able to pivot quickly, converting as much as possible to ‘no touch’ and making it a safe touring environment. 

http://www.cambridgediscoverypark.com/