In Massachusetts, A Much-Needed Biomanufacturing Facility Comes To The I-93 Corridor
Boston’s life sciences market is known for being home to some of the industry’s most prominent leaders, including Biogen, Moderna, Novartix and Vertex. The continued life sciences boom in the region has led to a unique real estate shortage — biopharmaceutical companies are desperately searching for biomanufacturing facilities and finding their options to be few and far between.
Manufacturing medications is a complicated process that requires a special facility. These facilities are in particularly high demand in the Boston area, where a growing number of companies are hoping to find a place where they can not only research and develop new medications, but can control their production as well. Now, local companies have a new biomanufacturing option just a short ride away from the heart of the city.
Exchange 93, from Hilco Redevelopment Partners, is a 152K SF building situated on 14 acres at 400 Wood Road in Braintree, Massachusetts, just two minutes from Interstate 93. Originally built in 1975, the building has served multiple functions, including office, R&D, lab, manufacturing and distribution space, and it was the headquarters of Haemonetics for more than 40 years. Now, the building is nearly done being transformed by HRP into a modern GMP/lab-ready facility that can meet the unique needs of today’s biomanufacturing companies. Base building construction is slated to be completed in September.
“A facility like this is not readily available in this market,” HRP Vice President Joshua Stavis said. “A large, clean, single-story building, with incredible signage opportunity and right off of I-93 and access to the Red Line is extremely hard to duplicate. If you look at what else is available in Massachusetts right now, you’re not going to find anything like this so close to Boston and Cambridge.”
Stavis said the building has been upgraded with power capabilities that can handle typical GMP requirements, there are more than 30 watts per SF available at the property, and it is provided by Braintree Electric Light Department, which can offer competitive rates against some of the more regional or national electric companies.
“We've taken a building that really looked and felt like an industrial building and we've spent a significant amount of resources to completely change that image,” HRP Vice President Sam Browne said. “Starting from a good blank slate, we spent the capital to transform it into a high-end life science opportunity.”
Even though the building boasts the privacy benefits of being located on 14 acres at the end of the street, Browne said it is still minutes from amenities like the South Shore Plaza, Starbucks, Chipotle, Legal Seafoods, Five Guys, California Pizza Kitchen, Cheesecake Factory and several other dining and shopping options. There are also multiple hotel options including Hyatt Place and a Marriott Residence Inn, and Logan Express is located nearby.
“This really is a great location,” Browne said. “Five minutes from the Red Line, the property provides excellent access to Cambridge while also being located adjacent to I-93. It’s rare to find a GMP facility with this scale located 20 minutes from downtown Boston."
He added that for life sciences employers, this location also offers tremendous access to an employee base with skills in the life sciences as well as manufacturing. And with more than 350 parking spaces, the property offers ample parking for all the employees they need.
“We understand the opportunity here really well,” Browne said. “This facility is completely necessary for this area, and we’re excited to be able to take it live."
Interested parties should reach out to Pete Whoriskey at Pete.Whoriskey@cushwake.com.
This feature was produced in collaboration between Studio B and Hilco. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.
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