Boston Properties, Asset Manager Agree To 106K SF Net-Zero Office Lease In Needham

Boston Properties and its familiar tenant agreed to a 106K SF, net-zero lease in Needham in what the developer describes as the first-of-its-kind carbon-neutral repositioning effort in the state.

Asset manager Wellington Management committed to a long-term lease at 140 Kendrick St., a full-building lease at the three-building, 440K SF office complex, Boston Properties announced Tuesday. The landlord described the lease as a net-zero lease and pledged to make upgrades allowing the office to meet LEED Zero carbon certification. 

It is the firms’ second nine-figure lease agreement this year after Wellington Management committed to over a half-million SF in a 10-year lease extension at 280 Congress St. in Boston, an office tower known as Atlantic Wharf, which touts LEED Double-Platinum certification. 

“Wellington Management’s commitment at 140 Kendrick Street is a continuation of the success we built at Atlantic Wharf through the development of Boston’s First Green Skyscraper,” Boston Properties Boston Region Vice President Bryan Koop said in a statement. 

Wellington Management is working toward its own goal of becoming carbon-neutral by the end of next year, its chief financial officer, Ed Steinborn, said in a statement. The net-zero repositioning of the office along Route 128 will include full electrification of gas-powered systems, an HVAC modernization and on-site renewable energy generation from a solar photovoltaic system.

The move falls in line with the state’s goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and reflects a growing push in the commercial real estate industry among investors, who are increasingly setting benchmarks for climate resiliency performance. Needham earlier this year established a Climate Action Plan Committee meant to guide the town in developing its own climate mitigation goals.