Boston – The Massachusetts Building Congress (MBC) recently hosted the development team for Innovation Square III (ISQ3), Related Beal’s 345,000sf lab building in the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park in the Seaport. The panel discussion focused on the incorporation of the “Massport Model” – a set of principles designed to set a new standard for integrating diversity and inclusion into every facet of the development and operation of public/private development projects – as well as the sustainability/resiliency aspects of ISQ3, which will be the first LEED Platinum and zero-net-carbon life sciences building in Boston.
Related Beal’s investment partners in the development include Mitsui Fudosan America, the Boston Real Estate Inclusion Fund (BREIF, managed by Richard Taylor, who was a partner in the first Massport Model project in Boston, the Omni Hotel), and the Kavanagh Advisory Group. Located at 331-339 Northern Avenue, the rentable portion of the building (319,000sf) was 100% pre-leased long-term to Vertex in 2022, with additional space reserved for community benefit.
Held at the Hyatt Regency in Boston, the panel featured Kimberly Sherman-Stamler, president of Related Beal; Stephen Faber, EVP for Related Beal; Aisha Miller, VP of community engagement and permitting for Related Beal; Greg Janey, president and CEO of Janey Construction, which is partnering with Related Beal Construction and Consigli on the project; Troy Depeiza, architect and principal of the DREAM Collaborative, which is partnering with SGA on the project; and Dakota Jones, principal at DEI consulting firm In Order, which has worked on multiple projects with Related Beal.
“From early on, when we’re thinking about the life cycle of a project, we were thinking about how we’re going to come up with the physical product, but also thinking about the inclusive and equitable opportunities for our team, the communities, and beyond,” said Stamler. Massport and the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) have instituted a 25% diversity provision in all of the development RFPs they issue, which requests that proponents disclose plans to include economic participation, employment, and management roles for people of color, women, and certified Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses.
For ISQ3, JV partner BREIF wanted to provide women and minority investors access to invest in the project and partnered with Basis Investment Group, a minority-women-owned business enterprise. On the development side, over 50% of the project team is comprised of minority- or women-owned businesses, including MBE-certified businesses Janey Construction (which partnered with John Moriarty and Associates in constructing the Omni Hotel) and DREAM Collaborative, WBEs Nitsch Engineering and landscape architect Ground, Inc., as well as others.
Jones emphasized that diversity initiatives permeate all levels of the project, from ownership, design, engineering, construction, and operations to vendors and labor. By allowing qualified and diverse companies to build relationships within the industry, he said, they increase competition and create competitive pricing. “Another part of our role is to help debunk some of the misconceptions and the misunderstandings about including diverse processes into the construction practice,” said Jones. “It’s important to acknowledge that the diverse processes and practices are not ‘diversity above everything else’ and that it’s not pursuing one process at the expense of another. It’s really about figuring out how to weave these practices and goals together so that the entirety of the project can be successful.”
Miller highlighted the importance of engaging and providing benefits to the larger community. “Where you build can’t be the only place you spend,” she said. When completed, ISQ3 will include 3,200sf for the Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute (GMGI) to create educational opportunities for underprivileged and minority communities and will support the Boston Fisheries Foundation, as well as offer STEM education and technical job training in the life sciences for the Boston community. Additional public benefits will support local organizations such as the No Books No Ball basketball program and the tutoring service PieRSquared.
Related Beal has also prioritized sustainability and resiliency for ISQ3. The facility will incorporate features such as a high-performance envelope design; mechanical, electrical, and plumbing electrification using heat pump technologies; maximum on-site renewable energy generation through rooftop photovoltaics; and a reduction in embodied carbon through a whole building life cycle assessment to achieve LEED Platinum certification and meet zero-net-carbon goals. The development will also include 35,000sf of open space with outdoor public seating.
Construction on ISQ3 is underway and is expected to be completed in 2026. The project is expected to generate as many as 700 construction jobs and approximately 500 permanent jobs for the city.
