Vertex Signs Full-Building, 344K SF Lease To Expand Presence In The Seaport

Related Beal has landed a full-building lease with Vertex Pharmaceuticals for a seven-story, 344K SF life sciences facility in the Seaport. 

The project at 22 Drydock Ave. will be the second building Vertex will occupy at Related Beal's Innovation Square campus. The company announced the second deal Tuesday at the dedication of the first building, a 269K SF research and development facility across the street at 6 Tide St.

The first building was named the Jeffrey Leiden Center for Cell and Genetic Therapies I, or Leiden I for short, and the second building will be called Leiden II. They are named after Vertex's former CEO and current executive chairman, Jeffrey Leiden. 

The Leiden II building is expected to open in 2025 to meet the demand spurred by the company's recent rapid growth. Employees began moving into Leiden I in January, according to the Boston Globe. 

Vertex has expanded throughout the Seaport over the last decade, moving its headquarters from Cambridge to a 1.1M SF building in Fan Pier in 2014. 

“Vertex was the first major life science company to locate in the Seaport," Related Beal Executive Vice President Stephen Faber said in a release. "Their success and growth has been a major catalyst in the creation of what has become Boston’s global life science hub."

Related Beal, with Boston Real Estate Inclusion Fund and Kavanagh Advisory Group, was selected by the Economic Development and Industrial Corp. in April to begin working on the $400M project at 22 Drydock Ave. The group has also promised to work with more diverse investors, like developer Richard Taylor and Black-owned contractor Janey Construction, according to the Boston Globe. 

The deal is Related Beal's second life sciences win in the Seaport in as many weeks. Last week, it announced a series of leases totaling 260K SF at its redevelopment of the Innovation and Design Building, a partnership with Jamestown.