Instrumentation Laboratory Signs 400,000-SF Lease

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BEDFORD, MA-Instrumentation Laboratory has signed the largest lease transaction in suburban Boston this year. The developer, manufacturer and distributor of in vitro diagnostic instruments inked a 15-year deal to take 400,000 sf of laboratory, manufacturing and warehouse space in a six-building complex here.

The firm, currently located in about 150,000 sf at 101 and 113 Hartwell Ave. in Lexington, will move its world headquarters to the former Raytheon site at 180 Hartwell Rd. once renovation work is completed by the fall of next year. The complex, comprised of six interconnecting buildings, which were vacated by Raytheon last year, will be remodeled to include office space, as well laboratory, manufacturing and warehouse space. After 30 years at its previous location, the move will more than double the company’s size and make Instrumentation Laboratories one of the largest tenants in the Bedford marketplace.

The transaction also represents the largest lease this year in suburban Boston, according to George Nugent, senior vice president of CB Richard Ellis/New England. “They were in some pretty tight quarters and needed room for expansion,” says Nugent, who along with CB Richard Ellis executive vice president Phil Giunta, repped the tenant. Terms of the lease were not disclosed, but Nugent says similar space in the Bedford area generally rents from $8 to $10 per sf net.

Jim Clayton, vice president of Instrumentation Laboratory, say the company searched the market from Lexington to Andover. “At the end of the day, 180 Hartwell provided the best alternative for several reasons.” He notes that the location was the least disruptive for company employees. Brian McKenzie, John Wilson and James Lipscomb, all with Richards Barry Joyce & Partners LLC, represented the owner, “In It To Win It LLC,” an affiliate of Boston-based Vinco Properties.

The complex is set on 24.15 acres just four miles from Route 128 and 25 minutes from downtown Boston. It features a 200-person cafeteria, a fitness center with men’s and women’s lockers and showers, flexible meeting and conference space and parking.