Fan Pier Developments | Seaport

stellarfun

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Interesting tenant possibility. I would think that discussions must be fairly serious if they are going to the BRA for approval.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals eyes Fan Pier site

By Jay Fitzgerald and Greg Gatlin
Boston Herald
December 19, 2007

Developer Joseph Fallon is in talks with Vertex Pharmaceuticals and other biotechnology firms about building research labs within the new $1 billion Fan Pier complex in South Boston.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority today is expected to vote on Fallon?s request that some research-lab space be allowed within the massive Fan Pier project.

Spokesmen for Fallon and city officials would only say that there?s been ?some interest? expressed about life-science firms moving into the massive Fan Pier project.

But sources say Vertex, which has more than 1,000 workers, many of them at its headquarters in Cambridge, is one firm in talks with Fallon, who broke ground on the first phase of the Fan Pier build-out in September.

A spokesman for Vertex declined comment about any possible negotiations.

But he said Vertex is in the ?early stages of exploring all options? for a future expansion in the Greater Boston area and elsewhere.

?We have not made any commitment to occupy any new space,? said Michael Partridge.
http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1054920
 
Vertex move to Fan Pier hits snag
Boston Business Journal - by Michelle Hillman

Fan Pier?s Joseph Fallon is the latest Boston developer to struggle to land enough financing to lure a major Cambridge biotech tenant.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: VRTX) is close to renewing leases in Cambridge for more than 300,000 square feet, delaying plans to move its headquarters to Fan Pier, according to industry sources.The drug company has not entirely abandoned the idea of moving to the South Boston waterfront, but the deal hinges on the capital markets loosening up and Vertex gaining for approval for a key drug, the sources said.

Vertex continues to negotiate an agreement to move to Fan Pier should Fallon arrange crucial financing needed to move the project forward, according to multiple real estate sources with knowledge of the negotiations.

Vertex will need as much as 1 million square feet of office and lab space in about five years, said one source who asked to remain anonymous because the negotiations are confidential.

The Boston Business Journal first reported in July that Vertex Pharmaceuticals signed a letter of intent to lease an initial 500,000 square feet of office space and was pursuing a deal to lease as much as 1 million square feet in two buildings.

Vertex?s spokesman, Zach Barber, declined to comment on Friday because ?it?s a private process,? he said. However, a real estate source said the pharmaceutical company was forced to renew its Cambridge leases when it became apparent that Fallon would not be able to secure the necessary financing.

Vertex has 300,000 square feet of leases expiring in 2011 in Cambridge buildings known as Fort Washington Research Center 1 and 2. Though Vertex wanted the Fan Pier deal to happen, the collapse of the stock market and subsequent lack of financing had made it very hard for developers to construct new buildings.

Without available financing, construction projects across the city, and country, have stopped dead in their tracks.In another project, the Boston Business Journal reported Thursday that developer John Hynes is taking a ?time out? on the Filene?s project because he cannot secure the $400 million construction loan needed to build the $700 million mixed-use project in the heart of Downtown Crossing. Hynes already has demolished the Filene?s building.

Fallon broke ground on the 21-acre waterfront site last summer and has yet to secure a tenant for the development. Fallon is currently building a 500,000 square-foot office building on a speculative basis or without a tenant. The second, 500,000-square-foot building, intended for Vertex is not underway.

Vertex currently occupies 500,000 square feet of space in half a dozen buildings in Cambridge. Vertex was founded in 1989 in a 10,000-square-foot building in Cambridge which the company still occupies. Vertex currently employs more than 1,150 people worldwide, with 894 in Cambridge.
 
"Fan Pier work stalls, leaving future tenant Vertex in bind
By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | November 11, 2008

A deal to make Vertex Pharmaceuticals the first biotech company to locate its headquarters on the South Boston Waterfront is stalled because Fan Pier developer Joseph F. Fallon can't borrow money to build the drug maker's new home.

The Cambridge company had been negotiating with Fallon for a lease in the second office building proposed for the Fan Pier site. But Fallon, like many other developers, has been unable to obtain financing amid the global credit crisis and slowing economy, an executive involved in the project said.

The delay puts Vertex hard against a deadline for renewing the patchwork of leases it has at multiple offices in Cambridge. Two leases totaling more than 290,000 square feet expire in 2010. With Fallon unable to start construction, the building for Vertex could not be ready until 2011, at the earliest.

Negotiating a short-term extension on those leases could be complicated and potentially costly for Vertex. The company's landlord, BioMed Realty Trust, has already said it would expect two to three years' notice if Vertex is planning to leave its property.

Neither Fallon nor Vertex would comment on their negotiations.

A spokesman for Vertex said the company is exploring its options. "Our current leases afford us the flexibility to make real estate decisions needed to support the business," spokesman Zachry Barber wrote in a statement.

Steven Pellegrino, a spokesman for Fallon, said the developer has received inquiries from numerous tenants interested in moving to the waterfront site. "The Fallon Co. is fully committed to moving Fan Pier forward and making this world-class destination a reality for the city of Boston," he said.

Fallon has one office building under construction at the 21-acre site, and three others planned. The $2.5 billion development would also include three residential buildings, a 175-room hotel, retail space and restaurants, a marina, and public parks.

The development is one many in the city facing delays as a result of the financial crisis at the nation's lending institutions. The $700 million redevelopment of the former Filene's building in Downtown Crossing is on hold as its developer, John B. Hynes III, looks to fill a financing gap of $50 million to $100 million.

Officials with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the city's planning arm, said the delays are temporary.

"We are closely monitoring all major projects in the city," said BRA spokeswoman Susan Elsbree. "We have been working with the Fallon Co. on the progress of its second and third buildings at Fan Pier, and we feel confident that once the credit market loosens up, this new construction will commence."

Real estate professionals said the Vertex deal is especially complex because it involves moving a pharmaceutical company to a part of the city that does not have any large biotech tenants. Such tenants require highly specialized and expensive laboratory space, meaning that Fallon and his financial partners would be betting heavily on Vertex's ability to thrive in that location.

If the company doesn't need all of its space or leaves, it could be difficult to find another biotech tenant to replace it.

"It's highly unlikely this deal is going to get financed in today's environment, with even some deals in the city's core locations being put on hold," said Mark Winters, managing partner of the life sciences practice for the real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield.

Still, executives involved in the project said they continue to field inquiries from many biotech firms and other companies interested in moving into Fan Pier's planned 1.5 million square feet of office space.

Though it has yet to turn a profit, Vertex has been expanding rapidly ahead of the launch of Telaprevir, its widely anticipated pill to treat hepatitis C, which analysts believe could potentially generate billions of dollars in annual sales. The company is also developing a drug to treat cystic fibrosis, called VX-770. Based on the hope of those drugs, Vertex has a stock market value of more than $4 billion, making it one of the region's biggest life sciences companies.

But the biotech sector is notoriously difficult; many experimental drugs don't ever make it to market, because they turn out to be unsafe or ineffective.

Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com. Todd Wallack of the Globe staff contributed to this report. "
 
Well the good news is maybe they'll have time to get a better design :)
 
Can anyone name the top few biotech companies in the Boston area? I mean, theres Genzyme, Vertex...but I'm drawing a blank on the others.
 
Whos going in at Blackfan or whatever it was called? Did they ever complete it? I'm going to go find that thread.
 
kmp way to steal my thunder, i started a thread for that awhile ago.

volvo ocean race is soooooooooo awesome. and ken read skipper of puma is going to win it for boston.
 
Hopefully they'll have a semi-finished site, and all of the VOR Race Village will cover up all the holes in the ground. I know you'll hate me for saying it, but maybe a big, temporary lawn would suit this nicely?
 
Keep telling yourself that. Unless they can get the boat repaired in Cochin they're out after this leg. Nobody in their right mind is going to take a boat so structurally compromised across the Pacific. It wouldn't surprise me if even if the repairs happen half the crew jumps ship. They aren't stupid and they aren't being paid enough to take that chance a second time.
 
Keep telling yourself that. Unless they can get the boat repaired in Cochin they're out after this leg. Nobody in their right mind is going to take a boat so structurally compromised across the Pacific. It wouldn't surprise me if even if the repairs happen half the crew jumps ship. They aren't stupid and they aren't being paid enough to take that chance a second time.

I have faith in Jochen Zeitz's wallet. And we all know they are the number one crew in the race.
 
"So, our hope that the sport of sailing can do some good is coming true. Puts things in perspective out here. Can't wait to see a lot of these kids in Boston, but wherever you are all over the world tuning in to "Learning at the Extreme" thanks for your thoughts and the kitty has found a vet and she is hopefully healthy enough to have a great result in to India."

-Ken Read on inspiring letters to keep going.
 
Oh, Jiminy Cricket.

Vertex extends Cambridge leases, Boston move on hold
by Michelle Hillman, Boston Business Journal

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. extended leases for its Cambridge headquarters for five years, putting its potential move to the South Boston waterfront on the back burner.

While Vertex never publicly acknowledged it was in talks with South Boston waterfront developer Joseph Fallon, the company said it plans to consolidate operations in the future. Mayor Thomas M. Menino confirmed last year that Fallon and Vertex were trying to hammer out a deal. Those talks have since cooled.

?The goal for the company is to ultimately consolidate employees into one central campus and these extensions will give us the flexibility to evaluate additional real estate options in the years ahead,? said Zach Barber, spokesman for Vertex.

Barber confirmed Wednesday that Vertex signed short-term lease extensions with landlord BioMed Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: BMR) for 292,000 square feet at 130 Waverly St. and 200 Sidney St. in Cambridge.

The Boston Business Journal reported in November that the pharmaceutical company was delaying a move to Fan Pier and was instead close to renewing leases in Cambridge.

Vertex (Nasdaq: VRTX) currently leases about 604,000 square feet in Cambridge and occupies approximately 500,000 square feet in nine Cambridge buildings. The company has subleased more than 100,000 square feet to Genzyme Corp. and Momenta Pharmaceuticals at 675 W. Kendall Square, said Barber. A majority of the company?s leases are set to expire in 2015 or later, Barber said.
 
Could Fan Pier look like this in May? This is the opening of the Qingdao, China VOR Race Village. The VOR, I remind you again, comes to Boston from mid-May to early-June 2009. Right to our nicely publicized Fan Pier development.

ngcynm.jpg


Eerily familiar?
 
Volvo Around the World Race

Joseph Mont 05.MAR.09


If you happen to have noticed piles of shipping containers being stockpiled along D Street in South Boston, there is an explanation. The answer, as the Bulletin went to press on Tuesday, could be found near the Marshall Islands.

Starting around April 23, hundreds of ships challenging each other in the Volvo Around the World Race will be making the tour?s only North American stop, at the South Boston Waterfront. On Tuesday, the racers were making their way through the islands of the South Pacific.

As part of the event, organizers have devised a full three-week schedule of events, most of them taking place near the Fan Pier Development, using the large parking lot between the Moakley Court House and the Institute of Contemporary Art.

The shipping containers, for example, will be stacked atop each other and reworked into a retail pavilion sponsored by sneaker giant Puma. Inside massive three story structures built from the containers, there will be shops, bars and restaurants.

Volvo itself will feature a full array of activities, including racing simulators that will give participants a feel for what it is to race. There will be numerous other educational events, food offerings and entertainment throughout the course of the three weeks. Most events will be free and open to the public.

As an indication of how big the event will be, city officials expect it will lead to more hotel rooms being booked than even the Democratic National Convention in 2004.

Spanning 37,000 nautical miles and more than 2,600 hours, The Volvo Ocean Race is an around-the-world ocean marathon for 80 individuals aboard eight professional sailing vessels. As of this week, only six teams (and 60 sailors) remain.

The race began in Alicante, Spain in October 2008 and concludes in St. Petersburg, Russia in June 2009. Between each leg, the teams have the opportunity to repair their vessels, and their spirits, three week-long port stopover events in international cities. To date, the Volvo Ocean Race has visited Capetown, South Africa; Kochi, India; Singapore, Malaysia and Qingdao, China. The remainder of the race will take sailors to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Boston; Galway, Ireland; Marstrand, Sweden; and Stockholm, Sweden.

Larry Meehan, vice president of the Greater Boston Convention Bureau, sees the race?s stop in Boston as just part of what will be a grand summer season from a tourism perspective.

"It is very, very exciting stuff for not only the South Boston waterfront, but for the City of Boston and the whole metropolitan area," he said. "We?ve actually been promoting this all over the world. I?m on my way right now to London and Dublin and I just came back from Toronto and Montreal. We are proclaiming that 2009, with the completion of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, to be the ?Year of the Harbor,? it is very exciting stuff for us. The combination of the Volvo Around the World Race, the biggest Harborfest ever and the tall ships coming July 8-13 means that it is going to be an exciting year. We are celebrating so much that has finally, after more than a decade of construction, come together. We expect millions of visitors this summer and the Volvo Around the World Race is [a big part of that]. We are so thrilled to be hosting them for three weeks."

Dot Joyce, a spokesperson for Mayor Thomas Menino, added to Meehan?s enthusiasm

"Having Boston as the only North American city that this race has chosen to come to is a huge honor for us," she said. "It couldn?t have come at a better time for families and residents of the city to be able to enjoy something of this magnitude. It will be a wonderful event and we look forward to it coming and our residents enjoying it

She added that the economic impact from the event will be tremendous. It will also help the workforce.

"We are going to create jobs through it," she said, "even if they are just temporary, they are jobs."

- The Bulletin Newspapers
http://www.bulletinnewspapers.com/d...&pform=&sc=1725&hn=bulletinnewspapers&he=.com
 
"hundreds of ships challenging each other in the Volvo Around the World Race"

"The Volvo Ocean Race is an around-the-world ocean marathon for 80 individuals aboard eight professional sailing vessels. As of this week, only six teams (and 60 sailors) remain."

- Joseph Mont, contradictionist extraordinaire

Actually there are five yachts competing now, not hundreds, not even six.
 
I went for a run down this way on Saturday morning and they've started to put in the docks for Sail Boston this summer. There's a boat over there on display also. Sorry I don't have any pictures, but if I went running with my camera, over time one arm around get way bigger than the other and I'd look like a freak.
 

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