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Vertex Pharmaceuticals expanding in Seaport’s Innovation Square

Expansion furthers Related Beal’s commitment to establishing Seaport as a hub for leading life science companies

Related Beal today announced that it has completed a 269,000-square-foot lease with global biotechnology company Vertex Pharmaceuticals for 100 percent of the commercial space at Phase II of its Innovation Square (iSQ) development in Eastern Seaport.

“The tremendous demand we’ve seen from leading biotech companies across all our developments in the neighborhood is a testament to the Seaport’s vibrant business community of forward-thinking companies and surrounding live, work, play environment that is attracting world-class science and engineering talent to South Boston,” said Stephen Faber, executive vice president at Related Beal. “Vertex was one of the earliest companies to see the potential of the Seaport District as a global life science hub, and we are thrilled that they will be expanding at Innovation Square.”

This marks a significant milestone for Related Beal, a leading developer of urban research space in Boston. The firm has been a critical force in expanding Boston’s life science presence by continually attracting cutting-edge companies carrying out groundbreaking research and achieving medical breakthroughs. In addition to iSQ, Related Beal owns and has repositioned 27 Drydock, a 286,000-square-foot R&D building, and 451 D Street, a 477,000-square-foot lab and office property in the Seaport District. Related Beal recently acquired 7 Elkins, the 60,000-square-foot home to Integra LifeSciences in South Boston, as well as 244-284 A Street along the Fort Point Channel, where substantial lab space is planned.

“As the anchor life sciences tenant in the Seaport, we have seen this neighborhood grow tremendously over the last five years and couldn’t be more thrilled to expand our presence in this thriving innovation cluster,” said Jeffrey Leiden, M.D., Ph.D., chairman, president and CEO of Vertex. "This new facility will bring more highly-skilled jobs to Boston, support additional development in the area and increase our capabilities to develop transformative medicines for people with serious diseases like Duchenne muscular dystrophy, type 1 diabetes and sickle cell disease.”

iSQ is a phased, 394,000-rentable-square-foot research and development life science campus. It is the first new construction, multi-tenant lab building in the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park. Construction of Phase I, which consists of a four-story, 125,000-rentable-square-foot R&D building, opened earlier this year and is home to SmartLabs and PureTech Health. Located along Northern Avenue, Phase II will create an additional 269,000 square feet of tenant space and is expected to open in 2021.

Located at 6 Tide Street on the corner of Tide Street and Northern Avenue, iSQ is designed to meet today’s flexible research and development requirements, including robust infrastructure and business amenities. The development will include a collaboration center, fitness center, interior bike storage, ample parking with electric vehicle charging stations and green space. Situated amidst a rich urban amenity base, iSQ features an on-site MBTA Silver Line stop and is conveniently located near the airport and major highways, including I-93 and the Mass Pike.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals was represented in the transaction by CBRE brokers John Lasher and Jon Varholak. JLL brokers Ben Hux, Pete Bekarian and Don Domoretsky represented Related Beal.

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About Related Beal:
Related Beal is a fully integrated real estate firm focused on development opportunities in Boston and its surrounding areas. Related Beal leverages a national real estate platform with expertise across all asset classes and storied local experience in residential, commercial, hospitality and life sciences development, property management and investment. Related Beal has developed, and is undertaking the development of, some of the most recognized buildings in the area including The Clarendon, One Back Bay, Lovejoy Wharf, The Beverly, The Quinn, Congress Square, Innovation Square, the redevelopment of Kenmore Square, and more. For more information on Related Beal, please visit www.relatedbeal.com.

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