The availability of laboratory space for Greater Boston biotechnology companies has hit an all time low, a report by Boston real estate firm Transwestern RBJ found.
Access to capital and “an ongoing supply of skilled labor” from the nearly 70 colleges and universities in the area have contributed to increased research and developed a great need for more space, the report stated. Of the existing lab space in Boston alone, 86 percent has already been fully leased, despite the increased lab growth the city experienced in the first half of 2015, according to the report.
“Tenants took up positive 829,000 square feet of biotechnology-focused ‘Laboratory’ or ‘Lab’ real estate in the first two quarters of 2015, a dramatic increase from only 20,000 square feet of positive take up in the first two quarters of 2014,” the report stated.
Boston has a total vacancy rate of 6.2 percent, which is slightly below the overall rate of 7 percent, while Cambridge has a vacancy rate of 6.7 percent, the report stated.
Chase Bourdelaise, director of Northeast region research at Transwestern and a co-author of the study, said that development projects are underway that have already signed tenants to fill the space. In Cambridge, he added, the influx of biotech companies has caused displacement for some of that city’s residents.
“Some tenants are getting pushed out of Cambridge because they can’t find the space that they need, it’s overflowing into the [Massachusetts Route] 128 West market,” he said. “It is prompting a significant increase in construction in Cambridge in particular. It is [about] 2 million square feet that are under construction.”
Looking forward, Bourdelaise said there is a possibility of growth and expansion of space for biotech companies in the future, and that there are no signs of stopping.
“Boston is a premiere epicenter of the biotechnology industry, and I guess what the future holds is continued research and development of space for these users,” he said, “and the employee base in the colleges supporting that industry [will] continue to develop and cater towards types of skills that these companies are looking to hire.”
Transwestern RBJ expects to publish a mid-year to year-end report in the future, Bourdelaise said.
Several residents said they hope to see continued efforts to increase laboratory space.
Stephen Crear, 55, of Allston, said he is not surprised at the influx of labs.
“Well I hear a lot about people working in labs so maybe the reason lab space is so low is because we already have so many around here,” he said. “I mean with everything in Boston, it’s not really a surprise that so much of the space has been taken already.”
Lauren Thayer, 34, of Brighton, said labs are good to have in a science-centric city like Boston.
“I feel like I meet so many people who work in labs all the time,” she said. “It is a shame we do not have as much space, but at least that means people are already working there, right?”
Rebecca Brooke, 32, of Brighton, said it’s necessary to meet the growing demand for more labs in the area.
“Well, if we have demand for more lab space then we should meet that. [A] simple lack of space would be a terrible reason not to have more labs,” she said. “Labs are necessary for us to learn things and there’s also an opportunity for employment there if we do have more labs.”
