SGA-Designed Life Sciences Building Reaches Topping Off Milestone in Somerville
October 14, 2020
BOSTON—SGA, a Boston and New York City-based national award-winning architecture, interior design, planning, branded environments and virtual design and construction practice, today announced that a nine-story, 290,000-square-foot life sciences building—designed by SGA—recently held a topping off ceremony, reaching the mid-point milestone for the mixed-use facility in Somerville, MA. Hashim Sarkis Studios is the design architect.
Shawmut Design and Construction is the general contractor. The property, located at 101 South Street in Boynton Yards, is developed by DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners (DLJ RECP) and Leggat McCall Properties (LMP). The building broke ground in June 2019 and is slated for completion in summer of 2021.
101 South Street is Somerville’s first life sciences building, which upon completion will provide state-of-the-art lab space geared towards emerging life sciences companies. The building, which will include first floor retail, community art spaces and a four-level underground parking garage, will achieve LEED Gold and WiredScore Platinum certifications.
“We’re very excited that this SGA-designed building reached its topping off milestones despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and is on track for completion in Summer 2021,” said John Sullivan AIA, Partner and Director of Architecture at SGA.
SGA is recognized as one of the nation’s top lab and life sciences facilities designers. Named “Architectural Firm of the Year 2020” and recognized as one of the “Top 10 Architectural Firms in Massachusetts” by the Boston Real Estate Times, SGA is on the forefront of integrating dry and wet labs with office design, as AI plays a more important role in research and development in the field of life sciences.
“Despite the challenges that COVID-19 has posed during the last six months, the skill and efficiency of the construction team led by Shawmut have been nothing less than extraordinary,” said John Fenton, Development Manager of DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners. “With the necessary protocols in place, everyone has adapted and continued to press forward, resulting in no delay towards completion next summer.”
“We’ve always envisioned Boynton Yards as Somerville’s new innovation campus for the life sciences and tech sector to expand and grow,” added Rob Dickey, Executive Vice President of Leggat McCall Properties. “Now with the added force of today’s demand for lab space, Boynton is well positioned to support the City’s goal of competing and complementing Boston and Cambridge for years to come.”
Upon completion, the building will include advanced wet and dry R&D labs and column-free, 35,000 square-foot floor plates for unique and maximum flexibility. 101 South Street will also feature a below-grade parking garage for 250 vehicles, indoor bike storage, and a two-story lobby complete with retail space overlooking abundant public green areas and walking paths.