Friday, November 7, 2008

Report: Vertex move to Fan Pier hits obstacle

By Mass High Tech Staff

Fan Pier’s Joseph Fallon is the latest Boston developer to struggle to land enough financing to lure a major Cambridge biotech tenant, according to a published report.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: VRTX) is close to renewing leases in Cambridge for more than 300,000 square feet, delaying plans to move its headquarters to Fan Pier, the Boston Business Journal reports.  The drug company has not entirely abandoned the idea of moving to the South Boston waterfront, but the deal hinges on the capital markets loosening up and Vertex gaining for approval for a key drug, the sources cited in the BBJ said.

Vertex is continuing to negotiate an agreement to move to Fan Pier should Fallon arrange crucial financing needed to move the project forward, according to multiple real estate sources with knowledge of the negotiations. Vertex will need as much as 1 million square feet of office and lab space in about five years, said one source who asked to remain anonymous because the negotiations are confidential, the Boston Business Journal reported.

Vertex first signed an agreement in July to move the biotech company and its 894 employees in Cambridge to a 500,000-square-foot, two-building facility at Fan Pier.

Vertex currently occupies several buildings in Cambridge, combined to fit about 500,000 square feet and 894 employees. As of March 2008, the biotech firm  reported it employed 1,132 employees worldwide. Vertex reported a 2007 net loss of $391.3 million on revenue of $199 million.