Size: 276,000 square feet

Challenge: Cabot, Cabot & Forbes re-acquired warehouse in Cambridge that it had built in the 1940s.  Although there was little access to public transit, minimal parking, and a surrounding industrial environment, these warehouses sat on the banks of the Charles River, representing a significant opportunity for innovation and forward thinking.

Solution: CC&F, working with noted architect Hugh Stubbins, planned and constructed a 276,000-square foot, nine-story Class-A office building with an on-site 387-space parking garage in the heart of one of the country’s most desirable locations for a technology company: East Cambridge’s Kendall Square area.  The steel-frame/brick-and-precast-concrete exterior building is accented with ribbon windows and features a striking four-story lobby atrium and balconies that overlook the Charles River.

Results: Initially planned as a speculative office building, Lotus Development Corp. (now part of IBM) leased a vast majority of the space while the building was still under construction.  Today, the building is a multi-tenant facility that anchors an eclectic and thriving East Cambridge area, featuring shopping, hotels, and premium residences. During its re-leasing in 2002 and 2003, the building achieved the highest rents in Kendall Square East Cambridge market, besting its other class A competitors by over 20%.