Boston continues to be a national leader in the healthcare industry and redevelopments across the city are supporting this culture of innovation. Area hospitals and universities are making improvements and introducing state of the art medical technology to keep pace with demands of the growing Boston population and ever-changing healthcare market. New lab and research space are also being built across the area, allowing for leading medical research companies to work toward breakthroughs in a variety of fields.

In 2017, construction began at Boston Children’s Hospital for a necessary expansion and renewal. This top-rated hospital is currently operating at near full capacity so plans call for the addition of more space along with expanded services to meet the complex medical needs of patients.  The cornerstone of the expansion is the new, $1 billion, Hale Family Clinical Building. This new, 11 story building will have up-to-date medical equipment to improve services along with info sharing hubs and an expanded high tech environment. The building will include a 30 bed NICU with private rooms. A new comprehensive cardiac clinic will be housed on five floors furnished with 21 exam rooms, 9 post-operating rooms and cardiac diagnostics and treatments on one floor. An open floor concept will stress efficiency, and both indoor and outdoor green space are among the details incorporated into the new space.

Boston University has also started their own upgrades with a three year, $112 million renovations and expansion to the Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine.  The school is utilized by over 800 students, and 300 faculty and staff members and serves 33,000 patients annually.  With this volume, the school had easily outgrown their current space. The project will add a 7-story, 41,900-square-foot addition to the existing building that will also be renovated as part of the project. The all-new GSDM building will feature office, instructional, clinical, and student collaborative space, incorporating the latest technology and creating multi-functional learning space.

With this renovation, Boston University will also increase visibility in this developing corner of Boston’s South End. The building is adjacent to the recently approved life science and technology center, Exchange South End.  Dean Jeffrey Hutter of the BU HGDM has explained, “Our vision is to be the premier academic dental institution promoting excellence in dental education, research, oral health care, and community service to improve the overall health of the global population. Transitioning to seamless digital dentistry will help us fulfill that vision.”

Back across town in the Longwood Medical area, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center will soon start construction on its first new building in 20 years. The new Beth Israel Inpatient Building which was approved by the BPDA earlier this month will provide a modern setting with single beds and family-friendly rooms for patients and families. The new building is set to house more shared spaces for team-based care to address the complex needs of patients. The new space will also have to operate and procedure rooms sized to hold recent technology and imaging software to offer advanced research and services to patients.

In Cambridge, The ARC (Alewife Research Center) will be opening soon, providing over 220,000 square feet of new state of the art lab space. Ribon Therapeutics has already leased around 27,000 square feet at the building to continue their work on the development of inhibitors to block cancer cells’ fundamental ability to survive under stress. Down the road in Kendall Square, the upcoming 399 Binney Street will be home to three therapeutic research companies including Rubius Therapeutics, Relay Therapeutics, and Celsius Therapeutics.  With the biopharma job market continuing to grow, at over 28% in the past 10 years according to the Massachusetts BioTechnology Council the demand for this state of the art space will continue.

Statistics courtesy the Massachusetts BioTechnology Council

With 5 of the top hospitals in the US, over 40 colleges, and more than 500 Biotech companies in Boston and Cambridge alone the outlook around the healthcare/biotech industry continues to be strong.  

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