By Greg Ryan
Consigli Construction Co. last week topped off a nine-story lab building under development from CV Properties and Cannon Hill Capital Partners in Somerville’s Union Square.
Boynton Gateway, as the 336,000-square-foot project located at 495 Columbia St. is known, is one of several lab projects at various stages of development in the neighborhood. Union Square has seen a building boom thanks to the extension of the MBTA’s Green Line.
In March, DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners and Leggat McCall Properties topped off a second lab building in Boynton Yards, after opening 101 South St. in 2021. Boynton Yards and Boynton Gateway are separate projects.
The development team at US2 is set to deliver a seven-story lab building at 10 Prospect St. this year, as part of the first phase of the USQ development. Boston-based The Hamilton Co. recently announced plans to seek approval for a 200,000-square-foot lab building at One Union Square.
Designed by the architecture firm SGA, Boynton Gateway is expected to be ready for occupancy by the third quarter of 2024. Its developers landed a $278 million construction loan last year through Brookfield Asset Management. Boston-based CV and New York-based Cannon Hill are seeking out tenants for the space.
“Building a life sciences building is hard. Building within a tight footprint is hard. Building a LEED Platinum building is hard, but it is the right thing to do and working with this team at CV Properties, Cannon Hill Capital Partners, and SGA has been very much appreciated in making it all possible,” Consigli CEO Anthony Consigli said in a statement.
Boynton Gateway’s development team initially proposed putting a 12-story lab building on Columbia Street alongside a five-story commercial building on Webster Avenue. The plan for the single nine-story building, which covers both of the properties, came about after negotiations with neighbors and city officials.