Boston’s Urban Edge submarket for Life Science (LS) has been one of the epicenters of occupancy declines observed within the LS real estate sectors the past few years. In 2020, the 2.2 million square feet of LS space within Urban Edge was virtually 100% occupied. By the end of 2025 there were over 6 MSF of LS inventory in the market, of which half were vacant. The Urban Edge’s LS occupancy stood at 49.3% in 4Q25.
But remarkably there are signs that the occupancy declines are past history within the Urban edge. The occupancy rate has risen from that low of 49.3% in 4Q25 to 57.4% as of 2Q26. Driving the occupancy northward has been significant absorption during the past year. Over 1.2 MSF of LS space has been absorbed during the past year.
There have been some notable leases signed in the market during this time:
Transmedics signed a 15-year lease for the entire 495,000 square foot Assembly Innovation Park Phase 1 owned and developed by BioMed Realty Trust. This is welcome news for BioMed as $514 million in financing was used to construct the building and delivered in late 2024. The Urban Edge location also showcases an example of the value LS companies can enjoy for newer state of the art buildings. The starting base rent for Transmedics is $48/SF (with no tenant improvement allowance), which compares favorably to other areas of Boston.
Roche and Genentech recently expanded their lease at the 265,000 One Milestone East Lab within the Harvard Research Campus. Roche is the first corporate tenant in the campus.
So while the Urban Edge has a long runway to go until stabilization the recent surge in demand are signs of its promise as a life science hub.
