[[{“value”:”
**IQHQ Pauses Fenway Center Project as Lab Space Demand Declines**
A major lab development project near Boston’s Fenway Park has been put on hold amid a slowdown in demand for commercial life sciences space. The project, led by California-based developer IQHQ, includes two planned towers that were to rise 12 and 22 stories above the Massachusetts Turnpike.
Although Phase 1 of the $1-billion Fenway Center project — a deck spanning the Turnpike — is nearly complete, the company has decided to pause further construction.
“We have no plans to go vertical at this point,” said Tracy Murphy, president of IQHQ. “Given lending market conditions, we’re going to sit and evaluate once the podium is done in the first quarter.”
IQHQ is reported to be seeking a tenant that would pre-lease at least 50% of the planned 720,000 square feet of lab and office space before moving forward with vertical construction.
Fenway Center is one of three IQHQ developments in the Fenway area. Other projects include 109 Brookline Avenue and 20 Overland Street.
“}]]
