Boston, MA
By one key measure, Boston’s lab market is in as rough shape as the pandemic-battered office market – The Boston Globe
Three years ago, in the depths of the pandemic, only around 1 percent of existing lab space in the region was vacant or available via sublease. Today, commercial real estate brokerage Colliers reported last week, that number is 21.5 percent, and vacancies are expected to grow in the coming months as more buildings open. For comparison, the availability rate for office space in Greater Boston is 22.7 percent.
There are fundamental differences between the lab and office markets — notably the fact that most lab work, unlike office work, needs to be done in person. But the sharp rise in lab vacancies is a stark reminder of how quickly fortunes can change for a hot industry, even a still thriving one like Boston’s biotechs.
The amount of Greater Boston lab space that is occupied by tenants has climbed by more than one-fifth over the last two years. But this wave of new construction and office-to-lab conversions means the amount of vacant space has climbed even faster, hitting an all-time high of 11 million square feet. And for lab landlords, the scene will likely get worse before it gets better.
“We haven’t seen vacancies peak yet,” said Colliers research director Jeffrey Myers. “Once they start to turn the corner, it could take years … to get back to something we would consider more of a normal market.”
Several factors are driving the sudden shift.
Back when lab space was impossible to find, pent-up demand prompted many developers to bet on life sciences projects “on spec,” or without commitments from tenants. At the time, many local biotechs often took whatever lease they could find, sometimes renting considerably more than they needed. Meanwhile, money poured into the region’s biotech scene from venture capitalists hoping for a big payout, through an initial public offering, or from a sale to a much larger drug company, fueling demand for real estate. As a result, lab projects sprouted all over the region.
Now, many of those shiny new buildings are hitting the market — the amount of lab space in the northwestern suburbs along Route 128, for example, essentially doubled in the past five years. The small firms that took on more space than they needed are now looking to sublease some of it. The IPO machine has slowed considerably, as has the flow of cash from VC firms. And several significant players, including Takeda and Ginkgo Bioworks, have announced layoffs in recent months.
“It’s a correction from the sugar high we had during COVID when everybody was piling money into anything that said ‘life sciences,’” said Bob Coughlin, an executive at real estate brokerage JLL’s Boston office who specializes in lab deals.

The slowdown is evident all over Greater Boston. Myers rattled off a few examples topping 400,000 square feet in size, from the former John Hancock headquarters at 601 Congress St. in the Seaport that was renovated into labs but remains empty, to the former Tufts Health Plan headquarters in Watertown, also converted and empty. A similarly sized building just went up across from the Leader Bank Pavilion in the Seaport — also vacant. Lab plans have been shelved for a former auto dealership site in Needham and at the Riverside train terminal in Newton, while construction was even halted midstream on a lab building going up along McGrath Highway in Somerville.
Factor in the buildings that are under construction, and the region’s lab availability rate approaches 32 percent, according to JLL. In total, nearly 5 million square feet of labs opened in just the first six months of 2024 across Greater Boston, per JLL’s research, with only one-fifth of that newly built space already leased.
Empty floors even abound in the industry epicenter of Kendall Square. There was less speculative building in Kendall — most new buildings there are preleased to big tenants such as AstraZeneca, the Broad Institute, and Takeda. But Colliers notes a record amount of lab space is on the market now in Cambridge: 3.6 million square feet, most of it in or near Kendall.
Beth O’Neill Maloney, head of the Kendall Square Association, doesn’t sound worried. Kendall is as vibrant as it’s ever been, she said, and the empty space could allow more startups to expand there.
“It’s the normal ebb and flow as we build and fill, I’m pretty confident about that,” Maloney said. “Zero percent vacancy rate probably isn’t the healthiest for us. … The availability of some sublease space actually helps some early-stage companies grow here, thrive, and take root.”
Advocates for the industry say the empty space underscores the need for the Legislature to pass an economic development bill that would allocate roughly $100 million a year for life sciences, essentially reauthorizing two previous rounds of state assistance. The House and Senate could not reach an agreement on the bill before regularly scheduled formal sessions ended for the year on Aug. 1. The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council sent a letter last week to legislative leaders, urging them to bring lawmakers back for a special formal session to pass the bill as soon as possible, as Governor Maura Healey has requested.
“My hope would be there’s a sense of urgency,” said Ben Bradford, a vice president at MassBio. “This is a great tool for the state to recruit companies or to keep companies here.”
Still, the sharp surge in vacancies has provided welcome relief to all the smaller biotechs that had been jockeying for space. Coughlin, the JLL executive and former head of MassBio, has been working through a planned vacation this week to keep up.
“I’m doing predominantly tenant work, and I’m as busy as I can be,” Coughlin said. “I don’t like being this busy in August, but I am.”

Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.
Boston, MA
Boston’s season stays alive with dramatic buzzer-beater to advance to conference title game
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The Boston Terriers men’s basketball team advanced to the Patriot League finals on Sunday with a nail-biting victory over the Navy Midshipmen, 73-72.
And it couldn’t have come closer than what took place at the end of the second half.
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Boston University Terriers guard Michael McNair (20) drives to the basket against Northwestern Wildcats forward Arrinten Page (22) during the second half at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Nov. 7, 2025. (David Banks/Imagn Images)
Chance Gladden #2 of the Boston University Terriers is defended by Ben Eisendrath #5 of the Harvard Crimson during the 2025 college Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase game between Harvard Crimson and Boston University Terriers on Nov. 22, 2025, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. (M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Terriers came into the game as the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. The Midshipmen had the best record in the conference and were the No. 1 seed. The game was tied at 70 apiece with Navy inbounding the ball from the other side of the court with about 8.4 seconds left in the game.
Navy’s Austin Benigni received the pass and took the ball coast-to-coast for the go-ahead layup.
Boston’s Chance Gladden received the ball quickly in a last-ditch effort to try to put the Terriers back up. He dribbled up the court, went behind his back as he crossed mid-court and threw up a prayer from well beyond the 3-point line. It went in.
Navy Midshipmen’s mascot, Bill the Goat, in the stand during the Army/Navy basketball game on Feb. 21, 2026, at Christl Arena in West Point, New York. (David Hahn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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The Terriers improved to 17-16 on the season and still have hopes that they could punch their ticket to the dance with a win in the Patriot League Championship. Navy, with a record of 26-7, may be on the outside looking into the NCAA Tournament this season.
Gladden finished with 26 points on 8-of-12 from the field. He made three 3-pointers and had four assists to his credit. Michael McNair added 22 points.
Navy’s Aidan Kehoe had 26 points, 12 rebounds and five steals in the loss. Benigni added 17 points.
A detailed view of the Patriot League conference logo shown on the floor before a college basketball game between the American Eagles and the Navy Midshipmen at Bender Arena on Jan. 12, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
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Boston will play Lehigh in the Patriot League Championship on Wednesday.
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Boston, MA
Flights to and from Middle East keep getting canceled at Boston Logan
As tensions remain high in the Middle East, travel continues to be impacted across the globe.
Flights to and from the Middle East keep getting canceled at Boston Logan International Airport, and there were no signs of improvement Sunday as Americans are left scrambling to get to safety. The Trump administration has promised to help but getting out isn’t easy.
Several flights from Dubai to Boston were canceled Sunday, and aviation experts say about 3,000 seats per day go through Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Without them, people are trying to get home through Europe or Asia.
When not in use by the team during the NFL season, the Patriots team plane is operated by a charter company for various flights.
Meanwhile, Iran’s busiest airport was hit by strikes with Israel later saying it was being used to transfer weapons to regime allies in the region.
The Iranian foreign minister spoke on Meet the Press Sunday about what it would take to agree to a ceasefire and ultimately end the war.
“Nobody wants to continue this war. This is not our war. This is not a war of our choice. This is imposed on us by the United States, by Israelis…” Abbas Araghchi said. “People have been killed. Places have been destroyed and now they want to ask for a ceasefire again? This doesn’t work like this.”
With no clear end to this conflict and airlines backed up as it is, experts say it will take a while to get people where they need to go, though the State Department says it has chartered many flights to bring Americans home, including chartering the Patriots plane.
Boston, MA
Iran picks new leader as war intensifies, oil supply woes deepen – The Boston Globe
The Iranian strike on Bahrain came after Tehran accused the US of hitting one of its desalination plants. Persian Gulf countries relay on the civilian infrastructure for most of their fresh drinking water, and sustained attacks could compound the impact of a war that’s already rattled the stability of financial hubs in the region.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said he had instructed the military not to attack any nation that isn’t striking the Islamic Republic and apologized to neighboring countries. Trump said the remarks amounted to a surrender, but Tehran pressed ahead with strikes.
“When the enemy attacks us from bases in the region, we respond and will continue to respond. That’s our right and it’s a standing policy,” Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on state television on Saturday. “Countries in the region must either prevent the US from using their territory against Iran themselves, or we will.”
The Iranian president’s comments drew domestic anger, prompting speculation of a rift between him and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which coordinates Iran’s missile program and regional militia alliances, according to Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute.
On Sunday, Pezeshkian said Iran’s adversaries had drawn “naive conclusions” from his earlier remarks, adding Tehran is “compelled” to respond to aggression carried out from other countries.
Iran’s armed forces have the capacity to sustain at least six months of high-intensity war at the current pace and will start using more advanced, rarely-used long-range missiles in coming days, state news agency IRIB said Sunday, citing the Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Trump said on Saturday that the US will consider striking areas and groups of people in Iran that weren’t previously considered targets.
Israeli jets targeted Iranian oil depots in the Kuhak and Shahran areas of Tehran as well as the nearby city of Karaj, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported. Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen separately said targets including oil refineries and power stations were on the table and acknowledged an escalation in attacks.
Explosions were heard in parts of the city, where authorities urged residents to wear face masks and stay indoors, citing the air pollution risks from the debris clouds.
The semi-official Iranian Students News Agency reported that the Red Crescent had warned the explosion of fuel-storage tanks had released massive amounts of hazardous particles into the atmosphere.
The UAE, which pumped more than 3.5 million barrels a day as OPEC’s third-biggest producer in January, started cutting oil production at its offshore fields. Kuwait, OPEC’s fifth-biggest producer, reduced crude oil and refinery production, citing the “ongoing aggression” by Iran.
The Trump administration pushed back against worries around surging energy costs as a result of the war, with US gasoline prices rising to the highest since September 2024. US crude futures ended the week above $90 a barrel — more than $20 higher than last Friday — and notched the biggest weekly percentage gain on record in data going back to the 1980s.
Shares of Saudi Aramco climb as much as 4.9% on Sunday, the most in nearly three years.
Bahrain said three people were injured after shrapnel from intercepted missiles fell on the country. Separately, a water desalination plant in the country was damaged by an Iranian drone attack but water supplies remain unaffected, Bahrain said on Sunday.
Saudi Arabia intercepted a drone heading toward its Shaybah oil field, three others east of the capital Riyadh and shot down three more in the city. Defense forces thwarted an attempt on the Diplomatic Quarter, where the US embassy is located, in the first confirmed targeting of the area since early last week.
At least one person was killed in Dubai due to “debris from an aerial interception,” the emirate said.
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan made a rare public appearance to warn Iran to stop attacking it. “The UAE has thick skin and bitter flesh — we are no easy prey,” he said.
Australia is assessing a request from Gulf nations for defensive military support to protect them against Iranian drone and missile attacks, but declined to say what it might provide.
Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Saturday there would have to be a “very good reason” for the US to deploy ground troops to Iran, adding that Iranian forces would likely have to be so decimated they wouldn’t be able to resist. The US president also said he had ruled out the idea of armed Kurdish forces entering Iran to join the fight.
Trump added the war would continue “for a little while” and oil prices would come back down.
China, which is a significant buyer of Iranian oil, has called for a ceasefire. But Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday signaled that Beijing won’t allow the conflict to affect its relationship with Washington ahead of a planned meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
The war began after the US and Israel struck the Islamic Republic on Feb. 28,and more than a dozen countries have been sucked into the fray. Iran has so far reported 1,332 deaths, alongside widespread destruction. Scores of others were killed elsewhere in the region, while six US service members have lost their lives.
Iran’s Assembly of Experts elected the country’s next supreme leader, the semi‑official Mehr news agency said citing council member Ahmad Alamolhoda, without providing a name. He replaces Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who was killed on the first day of the conflict. Mojtaba Khamenei, the slain leader’s second-oldest son, was viewed as being a possible pick.
Airlines remain hamstrung by the conflict, with the number of canceled flights to Middle East hubs surpassing 27,000 since fighting began. Thousands of passengers remained stranded in the Gulf region, although on Friday Emirates said it’s aiming for a return to full network operations in coming days.
–With assistance from Onur Ant, Shamim Adam, Dan Williams, Neil Munshi, Patrick Sykes, Christine Burke, Dana Khraiche and Leen Al-Rashdan.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
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