Greystar Plans 1.4M SF Life Sciences Hub in Greater Boston

Greystar is planning a 1.4-million-square-foot mixed-use property at 20-23 Cummings Street in Somerville, a short drive from Boston, according to Bisnow. The project in the city’s Assembly Square neighborhood came to light last week after the developer filed an environmental notification form with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office.

Banker & Tradesman, the Massachusetts-based news site, first reported on the development.

The proposal calls for three separate buildings: Two of the buildings would stand 20 stories tall each and comprise more than 1.2 million square feet of lab space. The other building would be a 162,000-square-foot, 200-key hotel, which would be built after the life science buildings.

The project would also include 11,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, a 4,000-square-foot daycare and 738 parking spaces. The 99 Restaurant and La Quinta hotel on the site would be razed.

The timeline for the project is not immediately clear, but the environmental form is an early step in the process.

Greystar already has another life sciences development under construction in Somerville. A 465,000-square-foot project at 74 Middlesex Avenue broke ground last year. The two development sites are essentially adjacent, divided only by Mc Grath Highway.

The Greater Boston area is typically one of the most active life science markets in the country, propped up by the proximity to some of the country’s best young minds at Harvard University and MIT. But activity and demand has slowed for the sector in recent months. In the third quarter, 1.5 million square feet of life sciences space was delivered in the market without tenants in place.

— Holden Walter-Warner