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Leggat McCall Properties and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners broke ground this summer on Somerville’s 101 South St., a speculative 289,000-square-foot class A lab building, as they seek to establish Union Square as a new life science cluster. Image courtesy of Leggat McCall Properties
DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners, Leggat McCall Properties and Shawmut Design and Construction were joined by Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, City Councilor J.T. Scott, neighbors and community members to celebrate the official groundbreaking of the first of an expected wave of life science and office buildings in Somerville’s Boynton Yards, an industrial neighborhood near the city’s Union Square and Cambridge’s Kendall Square.
DLJ’s and Leggat McCall’s 101 South St. will be a 9-story, 289,000-square-foot class A lab building and is expected to be completed in spring 2021, with initial tenant occupancy beginning that summer in line with the completion of the Green Line Extension’s Union Square branch.
“Today we celebrated the start of the first phase of a project that aligns with so many of Somerville’s goals,” Curtatone said in a statement. “When 101 South St. is complete it will be home to jobs in the life sciences, retail, and the arts; include new residential units; and add more open space that residents can enjoy. As we continue to develop neighborhoods like Boynton Yards, I hope we’re able to work with partners like DLJ, Leggatt McCall Properties and Shawmut that want to build projects that move our community forward.”
“Realizing the long term value of the mayor’s broad vision to revitalize Union Square, Boynton Yards and the rest of Somerville is the reason we were first attracted to Somerville well over five years ago. Now we have begun the exciting work of creating a new place that respects the creative, industrial roots of the neighborhood and responds to the culture and needs of Somerville today,” DLJ Principal John Fenton said in a statement. “This will be the first piece of a modern multi-phase development that will bring together Somerville’s growing professional and artistic community with the new pioneers of the life science world in a vibrant mixed-use community of lab/office, residential, retail, and creative arts space.”
101 South Street is the first phase of what is envisioned to be an “18-hour,” work-live-play neighborhood offering over 1 million square feet of commercial, residential, retail, arts and performance spaces, along with various public green areas on a 6.54-acre parcel of land. DLJ RECP and LMP are currently developing an overall master plan for the site with the city of Somerville and its planning staff and engineering team.
Shawmut Design and Construction, the general contractor, along with architects Spagnolo Gisness & Assoc. and Hashim Sarkis Studios, is executing the 101 South St. building. The mixed-use facility will include advanced wet and dry R&D labs in column free space geared toward emerging tech and life sciences companies. In addition, it will offer open public space, engaging first floor retail, dedicated areas for community arts uses, and four levels of underground parking.
“We are tremendously proud to bring the vision of Boynton Yards to life, helping lead the future of Somerville with a transformative project that reflects the historic fabric of the community while creating a modern and innovative work-live-play neighborhood,” Shawmut Vice President Kevin Sullivan said in a statement. “101 South St. will mark a pivotal point in the transformation of the area into a vibrant, mixed-use district that will fuel innovation and growth. Our team is expertly navigating the challenges that come with working in an urban environment to deliver a true state-of-the-art space that will serve both the city and surrounding communities.”
