Alexandria Real Estate Equities Plans Another Boston Life Sciences Lab Facility

Alexandria Real Estate Equities is planning another life sciences development in Boston. The firm has 250 properties, about 25% of which are in the Boston area, with the rest in San Francisco, New York and San Diego.

Alexandria indicates that it could develop a site of up to 650,000 square feet at 5, 10 and 15 Necco Street in Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood. At the company’s recent second-quarter earnings call, Peter Moglia, co-chief executive officer and co-chief investment officer of Alexandria, discussed the plans for a laboratory facility to be built next to the future site of General Electric’s future world headquarters.

The site “represents a strategic opportunity to expand Alexandria’s unparalleled, world-class” life science development in the Boston area, Moglia stated.

In May, Alexandria and National Development, based in Newton, Massachusetts, bought a 2.7-acre plot of land fronting the Fort Point Channel. The price was $252 million. There is a renovated 95,000-square-foot warehouse on the property that GE has leased for 12 years. Zoning allows for a 12-story commercial building.

Aside from that investment, the two firms recently spent $81.1 million in March to buy a multi-level parking garage at 10 Necco Street. Alexandria also partnered with Anchor Line Partners to develop a nine-story laboratory facility in South Boston at 99 A Street.

According to Alexandria’s 10Q filing for the quarter, it invested $12.872 billion in real estate as of June 30, up from the same period the year before of $11.913 billion. Its total assets for the half-year period total $16.039 billion. Total liabilities, noncontrolling interests and equity hit $16.039 billion.

Revenues for the quarter totaled $373.9 million, and for the six-month period, $723.7 million. Total expenses for the quarter were $309.4 million and for the half-year mark, $616.2 million.

The firm also notes that in addition to its U.S. properties, it has three operating properties in Canada and one in China.

Of the Necco site, Moglia said Alexandria is planning an “iconic … world-class life-science building with a robust and vibrant set of ground-floor amenities. At this point, the company believes it will break ground in early 2020.

Other recent projects have included: in April, the launch of Phase 1 of the Alexandria Center for AgTech – Research Triangle, the first and only fully integrated, multi-tenant agtech R&D and greenhouse camps in Research Triangle; in June, a partnership with Columbia University to open its second Alexandria LaunchLabs in New York City, planned for the spring of 2020; and also in June, opened the first facilities with a tech-focused opioid rehabilitation campus in Dayton, Ohio in partnership with Verily Life Sciences.

Earlier this month Alexandria and TMG Partners won full project approval to develop the 88 Bluxome campus in the San Francisco area.

“88 Bluxome will bring an exceptional mix of much-needed community benefits and retail amenities to SoMa while it provides a dynamic campus environment to spur innovation,” stated Terezia Nemeth, senior vice president of real estate development and community relations at Alexandra. “We have worked closely with the City of San Francisco and our community partners to effect a new model for urban development, one that supports the world’s leading innovators, embraces excellence in sustainability and takes a holistic approach to engaging and activating the community. Alexandria is committed to making a meaningful and lasting impact in all of the communities where we develop and operate, and beyond.”