The Charles River Plaza, which is right near Beacon Hill and adjacent to MGH, was once home to a theater. It currently consists of a nine-story building and a two-story building that houses retail use on the first floor and the Schepens Institute and MGH human resource offices and conference space on the second floor. The Davis Cos.' project involves building an additional six stories on this building which will be leased by MGH as well as redeveloping the nine-story building and building a third 75,000-sf building.

According to Richard Bringhurst, senior vice president for medical services at MGH, the property was being marketed as research and development space and will be built to suit MGH's needs. Bringhurst, who is also the director of research space management for the hospital, tells GlobeSt.com that MGH will use the space for laboratory research.

The lease, which Bringhurst notes is for 20 years, is a coup for the Davis Cos. in a city where the vacancy rates are hovering in the 15% range. "We are very happy, especially in the current economic times," Paul Marcus, president of the Davis Cos., tells GlobeSt.com. Bringhurst says that the lease rate is "market rate." Average rent in the city for all types of space is currently about $38 per sf.