Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. Breaks Ground on Alexandria Center™ at Kendall Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts

PASADENA, Calif., Oct. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE) announced today the initial groundbreaking for its unique, state-of-the-art Alexandria Center™ at Kendall Square, a $500 million, 1.73-million-square-foot, 11-acre, world-class, build-to-suit science and technology campus located in the heart of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Alexandria Center's first building at 225 Binney Street will house Biogen Idec when the top-tier, global biotechnology company returns its executive offices to Cambridge in 2013.

Dignitaries attending the groundbreaking ceremony this morning include Massachusetts Governor Deval L. Patrick and the City of Cambridge's Mayor David P. Maher.  

The Alexandria Center™ at Kendall Square will emerge as a key epicenter of collaboration at Cambridge's internationally acclaimed Kendall Square innovation cluster. Ultimately comprising five state-of-the-art buildings with flexible, modern laboratory and high-tech office settings, as well as a variety of innovative spaces designed to encourage collaboration, the Alexandria Center™ at Kendall Square will powerfully complement Cambridge's abundance of cutting-edge scientific and management talent, smart capital, and world-renowned scientific research and academic institutions. As proven in Alexandria's other first-in-class clusters around the globe, the resulting synergy of these core elements will provide a dynamic ecosystem where innovative discoveries are transformed into safe and effective products that address the most critical international healthcare challenges and help relieve the economic burden of disease to society.

"The innovation economy is Massachusetts' global calling card and projects like the Alexandria Center confirm that our investments are paying off," said Governor Deval L. Patrick. "Alexandria's Kendall Square development will create new jobs for the region and strengthen our already robust innovation economy."

Each innovative and unique facility at the Alexandria Center™ at Kendall Square will be designed by award winning architects to create a distinctive, collaborative environment that will thoughtfully preserve and incorporate existing historic buildings with modern architecture. They will be designed and operated at the forefront of sustainability, including LEED® certification, and will feature an inviting two-acre park, lush green landscaping and convenient river access. A lively and engaging street level will offer restaurants, meeting spaces, and an amenity-rich retail corridor with easy access to public transportation.

The first build-to-suit facility at the Alexandria Center™ at Kendall Square, 225 Binney Street, will house Biogen Idec, a global biotechnology leader with annual revenues of more than $4 billion.  The six-story, 307,000-square-foot, environmentally sustainable building is being designed specifically for Biogen Idec by award winning architectural firm Spagnolo Gisness & Associates, Inc. The innovative design, which will feature a glass and terra cotta facade, will incorporate two historic buildings and house the executive leadership of Biogen Idec. 

"Kendall Square is one of the world's preeminent biotechnology clusters," said George A. Scangos, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Biogen Idec. "The proximity to academic researchers, teaching hospitals and other biotech companies fosters the collaboration and exchange of scientific ideas that breeds innovation.  We're looking forward to bringing all of our Massachusetts employees back together in this one location, and I believe it will help build the kind of culture and teamwork that is critical to our success as a company."

Alexandria is the dominant life science developer in the Cambridge submarket, which is a world-leading intellectual hub of innovation. In the Greater Boston market, Alexandria currently has approximately 100 world-class client tenants including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Novartis AG, Eisai Co., Ltd., Biogen Idec Inc., University of Massachusetts Medical School, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, Abbott Laboratories, and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., among others.  Alexandria is the Landlord of Choice to the Life Science Industry® with square footage approximating 3.5-million-square-feet in the Greater Boston area, including Alexandria's Technology Square, which is one of the world's leading multi-tenant life science campuses.    

"Biogen Idec's selection of the Alexandria Center™ at Kendall Square for its executive offices demonstrates the unparalleled quality, flexibility, and cutting-edge design that define Alexandria's assets worldwide," said Tom Andrews, Executive Vice President and Regional Market Director of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. "Global biopharmaceutical companies are strategically locating in Alexandria's collaborative and entrepreneurial Cambridge submarket to increase productivity and innovation for the translation of key medical breakthroughs."  

About Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., Landlord of Choice to the Life Science Industry®, is the largest REIT focused principally on providing high-quality real estate for the life science industry. Since 1994, Alexandria has created first-in-class life science clusters that foster innovative and collaborative environments in key locations immediately proximate to leading research institutions. Alexandria's broad and diverse tenant base includes internationally renowned academic and medical institutions, multinational pharmaceutical companies, leading private and public biotechnology entities, non-profit institutions, government agencies, medical device companies, biofuels companies, research tools and service companies, and venture capitalists. Located in the top life science markets around the globe, Alexandria's world-class properties, highly specialized operations, and expansive network assist the life science industry in translating promising discoveries into important, safe, and effective products that benefit humankind.

SOURCE Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.