William Kane, senior vice president, Boston lead for BioMed Realty

BOSTON—The competition to attract and retain top talent, particularly in the burgeoning high technology and biopharmaceutical industries, is fierce nationally and on a local level here in Greater Boston.

While the office, R&D and lab markets in Boston and Cambridge are enjoying high demand and low vacancies, the region must continue to foster an environment that is attractive to these highly sought after workers. A report released earlier this year by the Massachusetts High Technology Council indicates that more work needs to be done in this area if the region is to continue to be a haven for high technology. The index, published by the Massachusetts High Technology Council in conjunction with the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the employment site Monster.com, and research firm Wanted Analytics, ranked Massachusetts the worst market in the country in terms of hiring difficulty for technology industries.

William Kane, senior vice president and Boston lead for BioMed Realty Trust, believes that landlords, architects and designers in Cambridge and Greater Boston must continue to push the boundaries to provide the work environments that attract employees, increase productivity, and foster collaboration. BioMed Realty Trust has a portfolio of more than 19 million square feet of life science sector space, including an extensive presence in Kendall Square in Cambridge.

“As it relates to workplace environments, we are seeing more amenities basically offered to employees not just inside the buildings, but outside the buildings,” Kane says. “We are seeing a huge investment in transportation, not just public, but private and we are seeing a vast improvement in the quality of life inside work spaces.”

He adds that because studies have found that Millennials like to work in teams rather than in individual silos, BioMed Realty and other building owners have worked with tenants and designers to create workspaces that foster collaboration and team-building.

The ever-evolving workspace needs of high-tech and biopharmaceutical research companies require “an awareness of what our tenants need and a change in how we program our spaces.” While he says the efforts to cater to these sectors do not necessarily require additional capital investment by the building owner, they do involve “a change in what we draw on pieces of paper before we build out the spaces.”

BioMed Realty has instituted a new in-house process called “Precision Programming” that aggregates research and tenant behavior that identify trends in the life science industry that are then translated into architectural practices and programs that are put in place in their properties.

Kane relates that the Cambridge market is booming with unprecedented activity and investment. For example, last year Cambridge enjoyed 1.3 million square feet of positive absorption and so far in 2016 has registered another 1 million square feet of positive absorption of lab space. In terms of investment, Cambridge has recently seen $2 billion in National Institute of Health capital investment, $2.4 billion in venture capital investment, as well as an uptick in private philanthropic investment. Kane says that infusion of capital has created tremendous demand for laboratory space in Cambridge and Greater Boston, which in turn makes the attraction and retention of quality talent a key strategy in the region's economic future.

One trend that is starting to affect the local and national life science real estate markets is the significant growth of computational-based research, particularly in relation to genome research.

The growth in computational and genome research in Cambridge and Kendall Square is “changing the way people behave and interact in their spaces,” Kane relates. The rise in computational research is causing companies to utilize more computer and bioinformatics than wet lab engines. For those firms engaged in these research practices, “speed is king,” he adds.

The environment that will attract today's talent causes landlords and or tenants to heavily invest in amenities, but also fosters greater productivity and collaboration. This has led to the development of more collaboration centers, break rooms, coffee stands, and event and planning spaces inside a company's specific offices. In addition, these firms and their workers also require space devoted to exterior networking (atriums, meeting spaces) that play host to industry events that promote interaction and the sharing of ideas among industry peer groups, Kane notes.

Kane pointed out a prime example of how a tenant can adapt their space to meet the needs of its tenants is 500 Kendall St. in Cambridge. Tenant Sanofi designed its offices so that every workspace has access and visibility to daylight. “Every single workspace is hyper-collaborative in terms of visibility. You see people, you are constantly bumping into people, there are coffee stands on every floor and it is probably one of the most collaborative and productive workspaces I have ever seen,” Kane says.

The 13-story, 349,325-square-foot building, is owned by BioMed Realty Trust and is also known as the Genzyme Center. The building received the AIA 2004 Excellence in Sustainable Design Award and the AIA COTE 2004 Top Ten Green Projects award. It was recognized as being a Platinum Rated LEED Compliant Building—the highest rating possible for Green Buildings.

One trend that is starting to affect the local and national life science real estate markets is the significant growth of computational-based research, particularly in relation to genome research.

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First-Class Amenities Key to Retaining Top Talent

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