Developer Swaps Alewife Lab Plans For 12-Story Residential Tower
Another developer that hoped to capitalize on Boston's life sciences market with a lab building is moving to Plan B.
Boylston Properties has proposed a 227-unit residential building in Alewife after a construction moratorium was placed on the Cambridge neighborhood in fear that there would be too much life sciences development entering the space, the Boston Business Journal first reported.
“Thank God the moratorium came along. We’d have a built or half-built life science building in a tough market,” Boylston Properties principal Andrew Copelotti told the BBJ. “Sometimes the projects you don’t do are the best ones.”
The plan would be to redevelop 745 Concord Ave., a one-story office building home to Spinelli Commercial Properties. Boylston hasn't purchased the property yet, as the sale is contingent on the project's approval.
Cambridge adopted a construction moratorium for large-scale office and lab developments in Alewife in 2022 as part of its rezoning efforts for the neighborhood, Cambridge Day reported. The moratorium lifted at the end of 2023.
Last month, the MBTA sought a development partner to redevelop the Alewife station parking lot just a mile away.
Although Copelotti lucked out with being able to pivot, other developers and owners are delivering projects in a market with millions of square feet of vacancy and little to no tenant activity. Some buildings face the threat of foreclosure as vacancy continues to rise and their construction loans begin to mature.
