Mayor Menino and MassChallenge Announce Expansion of Innovation District
Sep 20, 2013
MassChallenge to Anchor District Growth with 2014 Move to New Home in Innovation and Design Building - 5,000 New Innovation District Jobs Added over Four Years; 1,000 new Jobs since February 2013
Mayor Thomas M. Menino today joined MassChallenge, the world’s largest startup accelerator, to announce the expansion of Boston’s Innovation District eastward with MassChallenge’s move to a new location in the Boston Marine Industrial Park’s “Innovation and Design Building,” owned by Jamestown Properties. The Mayor also announced today the Innovation District has added more than 5,000 new jobs over the past four years, and more than 1,000 new jobs in just the past eight months. Today’s MassChallenge announcement builds on the City’s long term vision for the district, which is to create jobs and economic activity that will enhance Boston’s economy and provide employment for residents.
[box] “We had an idea that these 1,000 acres along the waterfront could be a special place. We believed that we could attract entrepreneurs, researchers, designers and technologists – and that we could usher in the reinvention of our economy,” Mayor Menino said. “Mass Challenge was a real leader – a catalyst for growth along the waterfront, and I’m proud the organization will make a new home and continue its growth here in the Marine Industrial Park’s Innovation and Design Building.”[/box]
MassChallenge was a key anchor for the Innovation District when the organization moved there three years ago. Since then, it has been a major catalyst and magnet for growth of the area. Companies including Zipcar, LogMeIn, and T3 Advisors have brought hundreds of jobs to the neighborhood and have opened their workspaces to connect with the community around them: creating flexible workspaces, hosting events and participating in the Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program. Startup companies like CoachUp, Artaic, Sample6 and Design Museum Boston have graduated from programs like MassChallenge and moved into their own offices in the Innovation District. Life science and technology companies like CareCloud, Dune Medical and Oblong have found new homes on the waterfront and investors like Battery Ventures and Polaris Partners are setting up offices to be near the companies they invest in and the talented workforce that powers their success.
The 361 MassChallenge alumni companies have collectively raised more than $362 million in outside funding, generated $95 million in revenue, and created more than 2,900 jobs. MassChallenge is currently home to 128 startup companies in a range of industries, from high tech and design to healthcare and social impact.
“The momentum of the Innovation District over the last few years is a testament to the Mayor’s grand vision, and reflects his impressive dedication to entrepreneurship,” said John Harthorne, Founder & CEO of MassChallenge. “MassChallenge is proud to have played a foundational role as a catalyst for the western frontier of the district, and we are proud now to help catalyze the eastward expansion of the district.”
Jamestown is embarking on an extensive plan to attract cutting-edge companies to the ‘Innovation and Design Building’ in the technology, manufacturing, retail and other creative industries, including those that MassChallenge celebrates and supports. This year, separate affiliates of Jamestown purchased both the Boston Design Center and the Bronstein Building, bringing the neighboring centers under ultimate common ownership and management. In 2012, Jamestown entered the Boston market by purchasing a 28-building portfolio along Newbury and Boylston Streets in the Back Bay.
“Jamestown is continuing its strong investment track record in Boston, and more specifically the Innovation District,” said Michael Phillips, COO of Jamestown. “We’re proud to maintain a solid commitment to preserve the maritime and industrial uses of the Industrial Park. Jamestown continues to support the robust design industry that has inhabited this building for so many years, while integrating innovative thought leaders like Mass Challenge.”
[caption id="attachment_11772" align="aligncenter" width="644"]
Mayor Menino, John Hawthorne, CEO Mass Challenge and Michael Phillips COO Jamestown
sign a column to welcome MassChallenge to their new home in the Innovation and Design Building at the BMIP[/caption]
Innovation District: Development Updates
- District Hall, the world’s first freestanding public innovation center, has hosted several events including the MassChallenge Startup Showcase, where startups can share ideas about their businesses with investors and mentors; and Mobile Mondays, a gathering of the mobile technology community in Boston.
- On Thursday, Skanska USA Commercial Development Inc. ceremoniously broke ground on Seaport Square’s first office tower, 101 Seaport, a $126 million, 17-story, 440,000 square-foot office tower with 20,000 square feet of ground floor retail targeting LEED® Gold certification. The tower is located at the southeast corner of Seaport Boulevard and Boston Wharf Road in Boston’s Innovation District.
- Waterside Place, a $120 million project by the Drew Company, will add 236 residential units and 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and innovation uses.
- 315 on A, a $100 million residential project by Gerding Edlen, will add 257,000 SF of residential space including 202 residential units and ground-floor public innovation space.
- Public ground floor spaces are being utilized throughout the District, including public innovation space at Factory 63, open workspace at the new Marriott Residence Inn and gathering space at District Hall. More public work space is on its way: 315 on A will have public conference rooms and workspace and Waterside Place will have ground floor innovation space.
- The headquarters for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, two, 18-story buildings totaling 1.1 million square feet, will house the company’s entire Massachusetts workforce, and will also include a 3,000 square foot learning laboratory that will let local students conduct experiments alongside Vertex scientists.
- 100 Pier 4, a $150 million project by New England Development, will add 385,000 square feet of residential space, including 383 units and 50 innovation units, 20,000 square feet of civic space, and 12,600 square feet of ground floor retail space.
- State Street Corporation’s 521,000 square foot office space, a $225 million project by Commonwealth Ventures is currently under construction.