Construction Begins on Nation's Largest Biotech Research Park

CAMBRIDGE, MA-University Park at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology here is on its way to becoming the largest biotech research park in the country with the expansion of Millennium Pharmaceuticals facilities. The biopharmaceutical company, which needs to accommodate its 1,200 employees, has begun construction on 200,000 sf of space and is planning on adding an additional 212,000 sf within the next two years. After completion of both these sites, Millennium will occupy a total of 673,000 sf of space in University Park.

In a released statement, Cambridge Mayor Anthony Galluccio stated, “Forst City and Millenium Pharmaceuticals have been real leaders in the continuing expansion of the cambridge biotech industry. At full build-out, University Park will be responsible for creating 3,000 new jobs, many of which will be filled by Cambridge residents, and contributing ten million dollars annually to the Cambrodge tax base.”

The 27-acre biotech park was developed by Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises and is the area’s only corporate park affiliated with a university. Other biotech companies headquartered here include OraVax, Inc., Genzyme Tissue Repair, ETEX Companies, Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Acusphere, Inc., and Cereon Genomics.