The Boston market includes millions of SF in office-to-lab conversions, and tracking them is almost as tricky as the construction process itself. Developers answering the life sciences market’s call for more space have spent billions since the onset of the pandemic on what they believe to be underutilized office assets, identifying clear heights, floor plates and other building bones amenable to lab use. “I think a lot of times when people think of a lab property, they think that every SF of the building is used for people in white coats and bubbling ethers of life sciences experiments,” Colliers Research Director Jeffrey Myers said. “That’s not how it works. Even in a full lab conversion, you’re still likely to have office usage.” Fewer permitting hurdles and ground-up construction costs equal faster delivery, and developers have put value in the opportunity cost in speed to market, Myers said. Today, the Boston market counts approximately 3M SF in office-to-lab conversions, according to Colliers research. Some of the projects are newly acquired office assets that have yet to be converted, while others were pivoted in the planning process to include lab space and have yet to break ground. Bisnow looked at the market’s largest office-to-lab conversions already underway, according to developers who have filed public documents detailing the conversion plans. 601 Congress St. 
Location: SeaportSize: 470K SFDeveloper: BioMed RealtyThe Blackstone subsidiary is undertaking the largest conversion of a full-office asset in Boston at the former John Hancock Life Insurance Cos. building. BioMed assumed the 95-year land lease from the  Read the full story here. | 
