Better Health, Brighter Future
Transformative development on track to fuel life sciences and arts in Cambridge in 2026
Cambridge, MA (January 21, 2025) - BioMed Realty, a Blackstone portfolio company and the largest private operator of life science real estate, alongside Suffolk Construction, Takeda and Global Arts Live, today celebrated the steel topping off of 585 Kendall, marking the placement of the final beam at the highest point of the building. Designed by CBT Architects, 585 Kendall is a mixed-use lab/office building and performing arts center in the Canal District of Kendall Square. The event recognized the construction teams that played a vital role in reaching this significant milestone.
Takeda has leased the property’s approximately 600,000 square feet of lab and office space, creating a purpose-built research and development facility to deliver life-transforming therapies for patients that will be the home of Takeda’s Global R&D center. Lexington will remain Takeda’s suburban campus.
Set for occupancy in 2026, 585 Kendall is designed to support the diverse needs of the Cambridge community. The building’s 30,000-square-foot performing arts center with a 400-seat performance space, flexible multipurpose rooms for workshops and meetings, and an indoor garden developed in partnership with Global Arts Live will provide much-needed rehearsal, performance and gathering spaces for artists and community members. This performing arts center will complement the existing, ongoing community activations at Canal District Kendall, including farmer and artist markets, outdoor activities like ice skating and cornhole, and a summer concert series all made possible by BioMed Realty.
Sal Zinno, BioMed Realty Senior Vice President of Development for BioMed Realty; Suffolk Construction Chairman & CEO John Fish; Julie Kim, president of Takeda’s U.S. Business Unit and U.S. Country Head; and state Sen. Sal DiDomenico spoke at the event.
“The combination of unifying life sciences and a performing arts center at 585 Kendall has been an exciting development,” said Bill Kane, president of East Coast and U.K. markets at BioMed Realty. “Today’s topping off ceremony is an opportunity to honor the hard-working, talented construction teams supporting this project, and is an exciting step towards completion of a truly one-of-a-kind, community-oriented mixed-use building."
BioMed Realty and Takeda are partnering to achieve key sustainability goals in the building’s development and operation, including LEED Gold or higher, as well as additional healthy building certifications. The building will be water and energy efficient and supplied with 100% renewable electricity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Enhanced ventilation strategies, avoiding chemicals of concern like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and applying biophilic design principles, will improve occupant wellbeing, comfort, and productivity.
"Today's milestone reinforces Takeda's continued commitment to the Kendall Square community as we move closer to realizing One Cambridge Campus," said Julie Kim, president of Takeda’s U.S. Business Unit and U.S. Country Head. "We appreciate our colleagues and partners who are working tirelessly to bring this vision to life. The innovative design prioritizes environmental sustainability while seamlessly creating a space where both science and art can flourish.”
"This groundbreaking project propels performing arts to new heights in Kendall Square, creating a vital cultural hub where artists and audiences can connect,” said Connie Chin, chief executive officer at Global Arts Live. “This state-of-the-art facility represents a transformative investment in Cambridge's creative ecosystem offering much-needed space for artistic innovation and community engagement. What the construction team has delivered so far is majestic. The neighbors are excited. Our patrons are excited too."
Learn more about 585 Kendall and upcoming events at Canal District Kendall at https://www.canaldistrictkendall.com.
BioMed Realty, a Blackstone portfolio company, is a leading provider of real estate solutions to the life science and technology industries. BioMed owns and operates high quality life science real estate comprising—as of December 31, 2024—16.3 million square feet concentrated in leading innovation markets throughout the US and UK, including Boston/Cambridge, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Boulder and Cambridge, UK. In addition, BioMed maintains a premier in-process development platform with 2.5 million square feet of Class A properties in active construction to meet the growing demand of the life science and technology industries. To learn more about BioMed Realty, visit www.biomedrealty.com.
Takeda is focused on creating better health for people and a brighter future for the world. We aim to discover and deliver life-transforming treatments in our core therapeutic and business areas, including gastrointestinal and inflammation, rare diseases, plasma-derived therapies, oncology, neuroscience and vaccines. Together with our partners, we aim to improve the patient experience and advance a new frontier of treatment options through our dynamic and diverse pipeline. As a leading values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan, we are guided by our commitment to patients, our people and the planet. Our employees in approximately 80 countries and regions are driven by our purpose and are grounded in the values that have defined us for more than two centuries. For more information, visit www.takeda.com.
Global Arts Live is a nonprofit organization that brings inspiring music and dance from all corners of the world to stages across greater Boston. By putting the spotlight on exceptional artists and reflecting the diverse and vibrant community that is Boston, we aspire to transcend borders, cultivate community, and enrich lives. A trusted curator for more than 30 years, Global Arts Live has made live international music and dance a vital part of Boston’s cultural scene by featuring more than 800 artists from 70+ countries in over 1,500 performances attended by more than one million people. To learn more and to see the current concert calendar, visit www.globalartslive.org.
Ivan Alber
Director, Corporate Communications, BioMed Realty
858-207-5356
Takeda Media Relations
Jennifer Fox