Berkeley Investments to Build Boston Life Science Campus

Rendering of 176 Lincoln. Image courtesy of Berkeley Investments

Berkeley Investments has received the authorities’ approval for the development of 176 Lincoln, a mixed-use, transit-oriented development to include Class A lab and R&D space, offices and residential units in Boston. The company plans to break ground on the project in 2024, with completion expected in 2028.

Designed by architect CBT as an innovation village, 176 Lincoln will rise on a 5.2-acre site that was vacant for the last 35 years. The project is slated to feature two commercial buildings encompassing a total of 720,000 square feet of R&D, laboratory and office space, as well as 252 apartments spread across three four-story buildings, 2 acres of open space and underground parking.

While the office buildings will aim for LEED Gold, the residential units will be 100 percent electrical, to reach a 90 percent reduction in fossil fuel use, targeting passive house certification. The community will include 45 affordable units and offer artists 10 live and work units, as well as 10,000 square feet of affordable retail space, as a result of a partnership with local arts non-profit Artisan’s Asylum.

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The mixed-use project will rise along Interstate 90, adjacent to the Harvard Allston campus, less than 6 miles from downtown Boston. The transit-oriented development will also be within walking distance to Boston Landing train station, providing easy access to the city’s main points of interest.

The 176 Lincoln project will benefit from its proximity to Harvard’s expansion of academic and cultural facilities throughout the Allston section. Berkeley Senior Vice President Morgan Pierson stated, in prepared remarks, that the mixed-use development could become a focal point in an area that is undergoing a rapid growth for the life science sector, which already includes Boston Landing, the headquarters of New Balance and SmartLabs.

Berkeley has previously developed another Boston-area mixed-use project in Malden, Mass. The 300,000-square-foot lab and life science building came online in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Boston, a hub for life science development

In the second half of last year, several major life science projects were announced in Boston. Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge broke ground on a $500 million development in the heart of Boston Landing, in the Allston-Brighton neighborhood. Completion is scheduled for 2024.

Around the same period, Boynton Gateway became subject to a $278 million construction loan. The 334,000-square-foot life science facility, located in Somerville, Mass., is slated for delivery in the third quarter of 2024.

Another significant project emerged in February, as Trammell Crow Co. completed the early stages of planning a two-phase, 1 million-square-foot redevelopment of two neighboring parcels along Soldiers Field Road. Upon completion, the mixed-use campus will include 771,000 square feet of life science, office and retail space, together with 200 affordable apartments.