Laboratories and arts space on Parcel C
The February 2021 account described BioMed Realty’s proposal near Kendall and Athenaeum streets in Cambridge. Parcel C was an approximately 36,000-square-foot site occupied by a gas transfer station.
The proposal envisioned a 16-story building with more than 500,000 square feet of laboratory and office space. Around 30,000 square feet on three floors would accommodate arts uses, including a theater of roughly 250 to 300 seats.
The gas station decision
A late-December council decision favored moving the gas facility rather than keeping it beneath a shorter development. The report discussed an estimated $20 million to $25 million relocation cost and a separate 2018 property purchase for $50.5 million.
The planning history also included Glenn Knickrehm’s interest in a concert venue and acoustics. These were historical project and transaction details, not current construction or cost assurances.
Public space and remaining planning steps
The design included public open space, a garden of about 10,000 square feet and terraces. The article’s stated future schedule anticipated work beginning in March 2022 and completion in 2024.
The same account said performing-arts zoning still needed attention. The council decision should therefore not be read as final approval of every project component. Current uses and delivery dates require separate confirmation.
Historical account: Original Boston City Properties report