3 biotechs lease space at Cambridge office-to-lab conversion
First published by Greg Ryan – Senior Reporter at the Boston Business Journal on May 22, 2024
A Tishman Speyer joint venture has signed small leases with three biotechs at a Cambridge office-to-lab conversion, leaving about two-thirds of the building left to fill.
Larkspur Biosciences, Incendia Therapeutics and Deep Genomics are combining for 35,000 square feet at One Canal by Breakthrough, a one-time office building near Lechmere Station that Breakthrough Properties converted into lab space.
The trio are taking what are known as “spec suites,” or smaller spaces within a lab complex that are built out before a commitment from a tenant.
Lab developers are increasingly turning toward spec suites in a leasing market that has slowed considerably since many of the projects began construction a year or two ago. The spaces can be made ready for tenants quickly — a big plus for startups, but developers then need to strike more deals to fill up a building.
Breakthrough, a joint venture between Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital, acquired One Canal Park in 2021 from Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. for $131 million. It began redeveloping the four-story building in 2022 to include a fitness center and private outdoor spaces for tenants, among other features. At one point, the developer saw the project as appropriate for either a single tenant or multiple tenants.
Larkspur, Incendia and Deep Genomics are taking suites on two floors of the complex. Breakthrough is now building out spec suites on the other two floors, with an expected completion date of early 2025.
Larkspur came out of stealth mode last year, looking to make drugs for colorectal and other cancers. Pfizer-backed Incendia is a cancer startup that was formerly known as Parthenon Therapeutics. Deep Genomics is a 10-year-old company that uses artificial intelligence to seek to treat diseases.