Telecom City's Tenant Is Just a Neighbor

Four years after it was conceived, Telecom City finally has a tenant. Sort of.In an announcement that caught proponents of the 200-acre technology park off guard, an Internet service provider known as HarvardNet said this week that it would be the first company to relocate into the complex. The firm has signed an 87,000-sf lease at One Cabot Rd. in Medford, one of three cities where the planned 1.4 million-sf park will be located. “Moving to a larger facility inside Telecom City not only supports our growth plans for the future, it also allows us to take advantage of the park’s focus on the telecommunications industry,” HarvardNet CEO Mark Washburn says.

The only problem is One Cabot Rd. is not actually in Telecom City, and the Mystic Valley Development Commission that was formed to make the park a reality expressed surprise at the proclamation. Owned by Berkeley Investments, the site is close to the park, but has no official connection to the venture, says MVDC spokeswoman Deborah Burke.

Even with the mix up, MVDC sees some benefits in HarvardNet’s decision. Besides having an established Internet service provider trumpeting the potential of Telecom City, and bringing more than 300 professionals into the area, Everett Mayor David Ragucci says the deal underscore’s the park’s potential.