A Chicago-based life-sciences venture capital firm is expanding into Boston through a lease for lab space at Beacon Capital Partners’ new development in Dorchester.
Portal Innovations will initially take 22,000 square-feet of lab and office space at Southline Boston, located at the Boston Globe’s former offices on Morrissey Boulevard, it said Wednesday. The firm plans to expand to 58,000 square feet in the building in the first half of 2024. The space is meant for startups fundraising anywhere from seed to Series B rounds.
Flagship Pioneering, a Cambridge-based life sciences VC firm, also has a location at Southline for its startups.
"We are excited to bring our unique business model to an emerging part of the Boston life-science ecosystem," Portal CEO John Flavin said in a statement. “Boston is home to world-class universities, premier life-sciences venture capital firms, and an unsurpassed pool of diverse talent.”
The 700,000-square-foot Southline Boston, which opened last year, is still largely empty. Flagship has moved into a space of about 45,000 square feet, according to Newmark research. The footwear and fitness apparel brand Nobull will soon move into a 96,000-square-foot headquarters at the site. MassBio is also planning a 4,000-square-foot training center there.
Amenities at the building are up and running, including a fitness center, food hall, indoor basketball court and more.
Earlier this month, Beacon formally proposed a six-story, 305,000-square-foot addition to Southline in a filing with the Boston Planning and Development Agency.
