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Tishman Speyer-Backed Spec Life Sciences Development Lands Full-Building Lease

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A rendering of 105 West First St. in Boston's Seaport

A 264K SF spec Boston life sciences development from Breakthrough Properties is fully leased 18 months ahead of its scheduled delivery.

CRISPR Therapeutics, a gene-editing company with its U.S. headquarters in Cambridge, has agreed to lease the full 263,500 SF at Breakthrough's The 105 in Boston. The development, which sits between Interstate 93 and the Seaport District in South Boston, is set to be delivered in 2022.

Breakthrough, a joint venture between Tishman Speyer and biotech investment firm Bellco Capital, launched last year and focuses on life sciences acquisition and development, a sector that remains in high demand in Boston and beyond. It acquired the site — then an office building — at 105 West First St. in July 2019 for $80M and began construction on the lab complex in March. 

The Payette-designed building is slated to include a fitness facility and terraces that can be accessed from two floors.

“We are thrilled to partner with CRISPR, one of the world’s emerging leaders in the biotech industry, as it continues to develop therapies that change the way we fight disease,” Breakthrough CEO Dan Belldegrun said in a release. “There has never been a more important time to focus on the scientific innovation and we’re honored to play a small but supportive role in CRISPR’s exciting future.”

The 105 is Breakthrough Properties’ first project. It comes as Tishman Speyer is focusing on asset classes that it perceives to be resistant to the coronavirus pandemic-induced recession, including the launch of its first affordable housing program. Belldegrun was a Tishman Speyer senior director before being installed as founder and CEO at Breakthrough.

Contact Tim Carroll at [email protected].