WS Development Opens Foundation Medicine's New HQ Lab Building at Boston's Seaport

Foundation Medicine has officially opened its new headquarters at 400 Summer St., a 630,000-square-foot life science development in Boston’s Seaport district. The cancer-testing tech specialist, previously based in Cambridge, Mass., has consolidated its 1,100 Massachusetts employees into this new 16-story building. This relocation is part of the larger Seaport redevelopment project by WS Development. The 2019 lease agreement marked the largest life science lease in Boston since Vertex leased 1.1 million square feet at Fan Pier in 2011.

WS Development's Seaport Vision

WS Development is transforming 33 acres of the Boston waterfront into a mixed-use area featuring residential, commercial, civic, cultural, and green spaces. The 400 Summer St. building primarily comprises 600,000 square feet of office space and labs, with an additional 30,000 square feet dedicated to neighborhood retail. This development includes sustainable features such as LEED platinum certification and a pedestrian and bicycle corridor, known as the Summer Street Steps, connecting Summer and Congress Streets.

Challenges in Boston’s Lab Space Market

Despite the opening of 400 Summer St., demand for lab space in Greater Boston has slowed. This trend influenced WS Development's decision to delay a 420,000-square-foot building adjacent to 400 Summer St. due to a lack of preleases. In the first quarter of 2024, Greater Boston saw 69,000 square feet of negative absorption in lab space, with Cambridge experiencing 349,000 square feet of negative absorption. However, suburban submarkets have attracted new tenants, mitigating some of these losses.

Current Market Conditions

The lab space vacancy rate in Greater Boston increased to 13.7 percent in the first quarter of 2024, up from less than 4 percent a year earlier. Over 2 million square feet of new lab space was delivered in this period, primarily through conversions, with 65 percent of the new ground-up projects preleased. Notably, Eli Lilly preleased space at 15 Necco Street on the Boston waterfront to establish the Lilly Institute for Genetic Medicine, focusing on RNA- and DNA-based therapies.