The brokers involved are touting the deal as an indication that momentum is picking up in the local biotech industry. Cambridge Science Center, which is owned and managed by Equity Office, is currently undergoing a conversion from office to laboratory space.
"Viacell will be in good company among the biotech elite in Cambridge," says Maryann Gilligan Suydam, regional senior vice president of Equity Office's Boston region. Suydam notes that the company made a "strategic decision" to turn this property, which was once an industrial building, into a biotech facility. She emphasizes that the decision was made given "the long-term market strength of the biotech industry--part of Massachusetts' 'new economy'."
According to Grubb & Ellis's fourth quarter market statistics for 2003, Cambridge's vacancy rate for lab space was at 28.4%, up slightly from 25.9% the previous quarter. But the average asking rent for the area rose in that time period from $36 to $43 per sf most recently.
The deal represents a consolidation for Viacell from four different locations: one in Cambridge, one in Worcester and two in Boston. "Our growth in the past three years has taken us into several different locations.This move will be an excellent physical platform and headquarters for our continued growth in the future," says Marc Beer, CEO of ViaCell.
Robert Richards and Steve Purpura from Richards Barry Joyce & Partners LLC and Duncan Gratton from Equity Office represented Equity Office in the transaction, while Joe Fallon, Ted Lyon and Mike Brown from Trammell Crow Co. represented Viacell.
The Cambridge Science Center is currently undergoing a full interior renovation. The building was originally built in 1909 as a factory for ink production--the home of Carter's Ink Co.--and was converted to office use in 1985. The building is situated near MIT and Kendall Square and its structural system, floor-to-ceiling heights and efficient floor plates made the conversion to laboratory space a possibility, according to Equity Office.
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