Cummings Properties signs Courtagen to 25,000 s/f HQ lease

Woburn, MA Courtagen took possession of its new 25,000 s/f headquarters at 8 Cabot Rd. in early August, more than a month ahead of schedule.

This is the genetic testing firm’s second major expansion since first leasing with commercial real estate firm Cummings Properties in 2010. Courtagen is nearing 100 employees and had outgrown its 15,000 s/f space at 12 Gill St., prompting the move.

“We were delighted to be able to keep Courtagen in Woburn, where it’s part of a thriving life sciences hub,” said Cummings Properties account manager Tony Spencer, who worked with Brian Morrissey, senior vice president of JLL, on the move.

“Cabot Rd. offers Courtagen the unique laboratory facilities that are challenging to find along the Route 128/95 corridor. Additionally, Cummings Properties’ scientific infrastructure expertise will support Courtagen’s needs as they continue to grow,” said Morrissey.

Cummings constructed 8 Cabot Rd., a four-story glass and brick structure designed to meet LEED certification standards, in 2009. Courtagen now occupies almost half of the building, taking an entire floor for offices and the majority of a second floor dedicated to labs.

“Our in-house design and construction teams reconfigured the office area to Courtagen’s specifications and constructed brand new labs in record time,” said Spencer, who noted that the buildout also included major roof work to add a new generator and makeup air unit.

Brian and Brendan McKernan, brothers, founded the privately held firm in 2009. The pair previously co-founded Agencourt Bioscience and Agencourt Personal Genomics, both of which were acquired by global bioscience firms. A third brother, Kevin, serves as Courtagen’s chief scientific officer.

“We are very pleased that we were able to accommodate Courtagen’s growth and continue our long relationship with the McKernans,” said Spencer.

The McKernan brothers housed Agencourt Bioscience at Cummings Center in Beverly before selling the firm to Beckman Coulter in 2005 for $100 million.

Some of the other major life science companies located in Woburn are AdvanDx, Amgen, BD Biosciences, BMA/Covaris, MBL International Corporation, and Modular Genetics.

Cummings Properties’ 10 million s/f of prime space accommodates offices, healthcare facilities, laboratories, retail storefronts, warehouses, co-working spaces, executive suites, and more. With a portfolio of this size and variety, the firm can meet almost any commercial real estate need from 150 s/f to 300,000 s/f. Its in-house experts in design, construction, and property management offer “one-stop shopping” for leasing clients.