321 Harrison Ave | South End

I am really curious how there are going to treat the exposed section of the original garage at the north end of the project.

The southern part of the garage gets swallowed by the tower framing, and will undoubtedly get a facade enclosing the garage. But the northern end shows no sign of rework.
 
Apologies for bumping, but a nice hidden feature so you never forget the address of this building: the pleated facade gives hints to the 321 address, and this seems intentional based off conceptual sketches.

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I'm a fan of little details like this.
 
Apologies for bumping, but a nice hidden feature so you never forget the address of this building: the pleated facade gives hints to the 321 address, and this seems intentional based off conceptual sketches.

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View attachment 7847

I'm a fan of little details like this.
Yeah. I didnt think I would be wow about this but drove by couple days ago and it looks awesome.
 
According to UHub we have another life science conversion.
 
According to UHub we have another life science conversion.
How much Biotech space does one city need? Feels like one of the many bubbles out there thats going to burst before long.
 
How much Biotech space does one city need? Feels like one of the many bubbles out there thats going to burst before long.
If this were happening to any other city in the world, I'd also think it might be a bubble. But Boston/Cambridge is a well-established life sciences hub domestically, if not globally, and one of the legacy trends of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a prioritization of investing in and improving upon life sciences research. There is legitimate demand for biotech real estate here, and there will continue to be as the life science employers remain well-funded and continue to grow. And with the 6-figure+ salaries most grad-, and doctorate-degree wielding employees at these companies earn, many of them will continue to afford/prefer the amenities that come with an urban location.

This is a smart conversion if they can swing it. But the trend begs the question about long-term adaptive reuse of these properties generations from now, much like the downtown office inventory that can't necessarily convert to lab space as practically.
 
I wonder if 1000 Washington (the legacy building attached to this one) could also go Biotech? It has a heavy, quasi industrial structure due to its legacy as a Teradyne building (semiconductor equipment).

Update: Clearly it is both structures. I did not read the details about 1000 Washington in the deal.
 
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According to UHub we have another life science conversion.
Honestly this makes a lot of sense; it was originally a hardware tech building, now it's becoming a biotech building. Just changing key boston industries.
 
How much Biotech space does one city need? Feels like one of the many bubbles out there thats going to burst before long.

Human beings are proliferating and living longer life spans.

I'd say the need for Biotech space will continue to expand for many years to come. Many years to come. Boston has hit the jackpot compared to other regions who specialize in less universally or long-term needed industries.
 
Human beings are proliferating and living longer life spans.

I'd say the need for Biotech space will continue to expand for many years to come. Many years to come. Boston has hit the jackpot compared to other regions who specialize in less universally or long-term needed industries.
This is clearly an industry where the technology cluster effect matters. Expect biotech clusters like Boston/Cambridge to get bigger, and although dispersing a bit in the metro area, still stay pretty centrally clustered (South End, South Boston, Fort Point -- OK; Burlington, Waltham -- not so attractive.)
 
This is clearly an industry where the technology cluster effect matters. Expect biotech clusters like Boston/Cambridge to get bigger, and although dispersing a bit in the metro area, still stay pretty centrally clustered (South End, South Boston, Fort Point -- OK; Burlington, Waltham -- not so attractive.)


....also the Towns - - Charles and Water, along with Allston/Brighton, Someville, Medford - - - a real internal urban Bio Belt.

Burlington/Waltham DO indeed have a great supporting/back office business role to play, however.
 
^ I still have not figured out how this is going to work at ground level. Still just showing the bare steel work in front of the old garage structure.
Same. I was thinking it will be interesting to see it come together. Could they just continue the facade to the ground with nothing behind it?
 
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Are they just building a new entrance on Harrison? Landscaping? I noticed them painting the brick on the garage black last week.
 

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