Cummings Properties’ Emerging Technology Centers offer affordable option for early stage firms – 300 West Cummings Park

Cummings Properties has made available incubator laboratory suites at 300 West Cummings Park. Suitable for early-stage technology and life science companies, these labs were designed to meet the growing demand for small-scale laboratory and research space. Cummings Props., founded 40 years ago by Bill Cummings, has a track record of providing support for entrepreneurial companies through flexible and innovative lease arrangements. Its Emerging Technology Centers house growing and established technology firms in six incubator lab clusters in Medford, Woburn, and Beverly. The newest cluster offers lab spaces between 800 and 1,400 s/f, which are equipped with specialized laboratory infrastructure that is necessary for high tech startups, but very costly. With fumehoods, benchwork, utility distribution, and exhaust and make-up air systems already included in the labs, the Emerging Technology Centers are an affordable option for early stage firms. Located adjacent to Rtes. I-95 and I-93, off Washington St., the labs are 15 minutes from the leading educational and research facilities in Boston and Cambridge, and are situated in the heart of the Rte. 128 technology belt. Neighboring companies include Life Technologies, EMD Chemicals, PathoGenetix, Amgen, Becton Dickenson, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and many other national and regional life science firms. The incubator labs are geared toward young companies that are ready to graduate from university labs, but do not need the high lease rates of Boston or Cambridge. “Advances in communication technology, such as video conferencing, Skype, and even social media, mean it is no longer necessary to have lab space next to academic institutions,” said Eric Anderson, Cummings Properties’ vice president of leasing and operations. “Very often, these suburban locations allow scientists to work closer to home, with shorter commutes.” Additionally, because suburban sites are less expensive to rent than their counterparts in the city, more funds can be directed toward research and development. PoroGen, a company that develops and manufactures membrane technology for the separation of liquids and gasses, began in one of Cummings’ 800 s/f cluster labs at 200 Boston Ave. “The space provided everything we needed as a startup,” said Ben Bikson, PoroGen’s president. “Cummings Properties was attuned to our needs, and supported us as we grew and required larger facilities and manufacturing space.” PoroGen occupies 15,000 s/f in two adjacent large facilities at a Cummings site on Gill St. Shown is the interior of an incubator lab equipped with fumehoods, benchwork, utility distribution, and exhaust and make-up air systems.