Cummings Doubles Down On Beverly Office Space

BEVERLY, MA — Calling itself "bullish on suburban growth," Cummings Properties plans to build a 700,000-square-foot science and lab facility at Dunham Ridge in Beverly.

The Woburn-based company is already working on two buildings totaling 204,000 square feet at Dunham. A garage is already finished and the larger, 155,000-square-foot building is scheduled to open in January.

While some economists have predicted a downturn in the commercial real estate sector as companies opt to allow employees to continue to work from home after the coronavirus pandemic ends, Cummings is betting on continued growth in demand for lab space.

"Despite the economic impact of COVID-19, we are confident in the future of commercial real estate and are building to accommodate future growth in Massachusetts’ leading industries," Dennis Clarke, chairman and CEO of Cummings Properties, said in a news release. "The North Shore is a well-established innovation region, and is an attractive location for companies to affordably scale up research and development efforts as well as production."

The 54-acre site is located off of Route 128 at Exit 19. Cummings bought the property in 2011.

Dave Copeland covers Beverly and other North Shore communities for Patch. He can be reached at [email protected] or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).