ARC designs $150 million expansion for Genzyme in Boston

Representatives from Genzyme, ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge, Turner Construction, as well as business and community leaders, and state and local officials, recently celebrated the groundbreaking of Genzyme's Allston Landing Facility (ALF) Expansion, a 112,000 s/f expansion at Genzyme's landmark biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility along the Charles River. The ALF Expansion is the latest collaboration between ARC and Genzyme, a partnership that dates back to 1991 when ARC designed Genzyme's biopharmaceutical manufacturing plant. Since then, ARC has designed more than one million s/f of new construction and renovation projects for Genzyme, including the brand new 180,000 s/f Science Center in Framingham. "It is exciting to continue our partnership with Genzyme, which has emerged as the world leader in the life sciences industry," said Henry Reeder, FAIA, chairman of ARC. "This significant expansion will dramatically increase the size of their existing facility, satisfying increasing production demands as well as accommodating Genzyme's continued growth." Over the last few years, Genzyme has expanded production at the Allston facility from four to six bioreactors by fitting-out two previously unused cell culture halls. This has, in turn, stressed support functions and led to overcrowding in some areas of the building. The ALF manufacturing expansion is designed to alleviate this overcrowding and allow updating of support systems to meet evolving production standards. The new $150 million expansion project includes 86,000 s/f of new office and manufacturing-support space. Genzyme is also building a 26,000 s/f underground co-generation facility, which will generate steam to run the plant's process operations and will also produce electricity. The project will incorporate environmentally responsible building practices similar to those used in Genzyme Center - the company's Cambridge headquarters - and its new Science Center in Framingham. Genzyme intends to seek certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System. The new building which is scheduled for completion in spring 2010 will house an expansion of the existing warehouse, a new employee cafeteria, additional office space and conference/meeting rooms, an employee lounge area and locker room facilities, and a consolidated mailroom. ARC's design team - Jeffreys Johnson, AIA, LEED, AP, principal-in-charge; Been Wang, AIA, design principal; and Kathryn Archard, AIA, LEED, AP, project architect - were among those who attended the groundbreaking ceremony.Hunneman sells 109 Webster Ave. for $2.15 millionCAMBRIDGE, MA NAI Hunneman Commercial has brokered the sale of an apartment building for $2.15 million. Carl Christie, executive vice president/principal, and Dan McGee, both of NAI Hunneman Commercial, represented the seller, Webster Domestic Investments, and procured the buyer, Hampshire LLC, in the transaction. 109 Webster Ave. is a three-story brick corner apartment building in one of metropolitan Boston's most popular residential cities. The site includes a 10-unit apartment building and a single-family house.