Purpose-built GMP development site near Boston trades hands

BOSTON, May 18, 2022 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has closed the sale of Billerica Crossing, an 18-acre land site in the northern Boston suburb of Billerica, Massachusetts.  

JLL marketed the land site on behalf of the seller, Cabot Corporation, who will continue to operate its flagship R&D facility on the adjacent parcel. Boston-based Berkeley Investments, Inc. acquired the asset and plans on developing a 200,000-square-foot, purpose-built GMP facility.

Billerica Crossing is well located on Concord Road adjacent to Middlesex Turnpike and right off of Route 3; within one of Boston’s premier high tech and life sciences clusters. Driven by the highly educated labor pool residing along the Route 3 corridor, Billerica has emerged as “ground zero” for many of the world’s strongest and most innovative companies including those in real need of biomanufacturing space. The site also provides connectivity to Interstates 95 and 495, which provide easy access into Boston with a 25-minute drive.

“Berkeley continues to broaden its life science and cGMP platform, and we were thrilled to work with JLL and Cabot Corporation to unlock the potential of what we see as a strategically located site within the well-established Billerica corridor while also meeting the growing needs of our tenants for cGMP space,” said Berkeley’s Director of Development Morgan Pierson.

More capital flowed into the life science eco-system in Greater Boston in 2021 than any other year. Accordingly, the GMP market demand has grown rapidly, with increased demand from Boston-based life science companies that require manufacturing facilities near their research and development operations and corporate headquarters. However, supply has been limited, with few options for conversions and little new construction development, which has pushed asking rents well north of $60 triple net leased for this market.

The JLL Capital Markets Investment Sales Advisory team was led by Managing Director Brian Morrissey, Senior Directors Michael Restivo and Martha Nay, Director Lenny Pierce and Associate David Coffman.

“This represented an excellent opportunity for Cabot Corporation to divest excess land, while allowing Berkeley Investments to continue to build out their strong life science development platform,” Restivo said.

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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Cabot Corporation (NYSE: CBT) is a global specialty chemicals and performance materials company, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company is a leading provider of rubber and specialty carbons, engineered elastomer composites, inkjet colorants, masterbatches and conductive compounds, fumed silica and aerogel. For more information on Cabot, please visit the company’s website at cabotcorp.com.

Berkeley is a Boston-based, certified minority-owned real estate investment and development company founded by Young K. Park in 1991. Since then, Berkeley has acquired or developed in excess of 18 million square feet of life science, office, flex, industrial, and multi-family assets. For more information about Berkeley Investments, please visit the company’s website at berkeleyinvestments.com.