Harvard University, Tishman Speyer and Breakthrough Properties have marked the opening of the first phase of the Enterprise Research Campus, a nine-acre mixed-use project in Boston’s Allston neighborhood. A ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 23 brought together Mayor Michelle Wu alongside university representatives, elected officials, local community members and business leaders to recognize the milestone.
The initial phase of the Enterprise Research Campus is being led by Tishman Speyer and Breakthrough Properties in partnership with the Harvard Allston Land Company. The plan brings together life science, residential, hospitality, retail and public space components in a single district intended to build on nearby academic and research activity. The development scope for this first phase includes One Milestone, a laboratory building anchored by Roche, as well as a 343-unit apartment property, a boutique hotel and a conference center.
In addition to the primary commercial and residential buildings, the project incorporates a meaningful retail and public realm component. The first phase program calls for 40,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space that will serve project users and the surrounding neighborhood. The development also includes more than two acres of publicly accessible open space, organized around a new spine called Allstonway, which is intended to function as a central gathering and circulation feature for the campus.
Project stakeholders describe the Enterprise Research Campus as an extension of Harvard’s existing research ecosystem and the broader innovation cluster surrounding the university. Breakthrough Properties CEO Dan Belldegrun said the ERC is designed to be a world-leading innovation environment that complements and accelerates cutting-edge research at Harvard and in the region. He noted that One Milestone, anchored by Roche Genetech’s innovation center, is expected to foster partnerships between academia and industry.
The mix of laboratory space, housing, hospitality, retail and programmed open space is aimed at creating a campus that can support day-to-day research activity while also activating the Allston neighborhood beyond traditional work hours. With the first phase now open, Harvard University and its private-sector partners have established the initial footprint of what is envisioned as a larger research-oriented district at the Enterprise Research Campus.
