Bulfinch leases 17,000 s/f to Xenon Pharmaceuticals at 117 Kendrick St. in Needham, MA

Needham, MA An affiliate of The Bulfinch Companies, Inc., a commercial real estate and investment firm, has joined a new lease with Xenon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for 17,000 s/f at 117 Kendrick St. Xenon Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company committed to developing innovative therapeutics to improve the lives of patients with neurological disorders, with a particular focus on epilepsy. This lease represents the Vancouver-based company’s new U.S. headquarters. 

117 Kendrick St. is a 213,000 s/f office and lab building in the heart of Needham Crossing, Needham’s innovation hub and home to some of the nation’s fastest growing and well-known technology companies such as Trip Advisor, Shark/Ninja, Big Belly Solar, and IDG. 

The leasing team representing Bulfinch includes Newmark’s executive managing director Mark Roth, managing director Brendan Daly, managing director Matt Malatesta, and associate Brianna Piacitelli. Xenon Pharmaceuticals was represented by CBRE team members Ryan Romano, executive vice president, Ron Friedman, executive vice president and Perry Beal, vice president.

“Bulfinch strategically repositioned 117 Kendrick St. from an office building to a state-of-the-art life science building to meet market demands. We are excited to welcome Xenon Pharmaceuticals to our portfolio of tenants in the Needham area,” said Michael Wilcox, SVP, director of leasing at Bulfinch. “Needham is a growing hub for innovation and technology, and we are confident in the value and opportunities Xenon Pharmaceuticals will bring to our existing tenants and the community.” 

Xenon will join current tenants at the 117 Kendrick St. property including Candel Therapeutics, Verastem Oncology, Warner Bros. Games, Workbar, BBK Worldwide, and C&W Services. The property offers creative office and lab space available across functional floor plates, with 17,000 s/f to 31,000 s/f options available. Bulfinch signed a new lease for approximately 15,000 s/f of space with ABio-X Holdings, Inc. at the end of last year adding to the growing cluster of life science tenants and creating an attractive location for more research and development in the area.

“We are thrilled to join the growing Needham Crossing innovation community. We believe the location, facilities, and amenities will enable us to attract high-caliber talent to our team, which is dedicated to delivering new therapeutics to improve the lives of patients with neurological disorders,” said Ian Mortimer, Xenon’s president and chief executive officer at Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc.

117 Kendrick St., as well as Bulfinch’s other Needham properties, are accessible via Route 128/I-95, feature MBTA shuttle services as well as free and dedicated parking. The location offers access to recreational outdoor activities including Cutler Park Reservation walking and jogging trails. 117 Kendrick St. also offers a café and a fitness center as well as the HqO tenant engagement app to increase communication and provide a variety of on-site amenities and perks to local retailers.