Related Beal has topped out Leiden Center II at Innovation Square, a 345,000-square-foot life science development in Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park in Boston. The property will be fully occupied by Vertex Pharmaceuticals upon completion in early 2027.
Once Vertex occupies the new space, its footprint in the area will be 1.9 million square feet across five sites. The company will then be the largest biotech in Boston in terms of square footage. The development is named after Jeffrey Leiden, executive chairman of Vertex.
The property, formally known as the Jeffrey Leiden Center for Biologics, Cell and Genetic Therapies II, will be the third building in the park developed by Related Beal and the second fully occupied by Vertex. The first and second buildings will be known as the Leiden Campus, completing Innovation Square as a new life science hub in Boston.
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Leiden Center II will also be the first LEED Platinum and Zero Carbon life science building in Boston, according to the developer. The facility will incorporate such features as a high-performance envelope design, heat pump technologies and on-site renewable energy generation through rooftop photovoltaics.
The development will provide the Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute a custom laboratory at no cost, to facilitate the training of biomanufacturing technicians to enter the life science workforce. The non-profit school educates students for careers as entry-level lab technicians.
The project’s ownership group includes Related Beal, Vertex, Boston Real Estate Inclusion Fund, Kavanagh Advisory Group and Mitsui Fudosan America. Related Beal Construction, Consigli Construction and Janey Construction Management are collaborating on the construction. Related Beal is the Boston office of the privately owned real estate firm Related Cos.
Life science market in Boston turns tough
For properties that are not preleased, the life science market is tough in Greater Boston, with the supply-demand imbalance pushing the vacancy rate up to 25 percent in the first quarter, after being nearly zero only 36 months ago, CBRE reported. Millions of square feet of purpose-built lab space sit vacant, awaiting tenants.
Moreover, absorption has turned negative in the Boston life science market, according to CBRE, with 640,000 square feet returned to the market in the first quarter of 2025. New sublease space has been coming on the market throughout the region.
Early-stage companies face increasingly skittish venture capitalists, with investors seeking results sooner rather than betting on future success, CBRE noted. The stunted investment environment means companies are scaling back headcount and growth plans for space. A pullback in NIH funding could cause clinical trials to pause, as well as reduce research institutes’ need for lab space in the Boston region, CBRE also reported.