A developer has won approval for a nine-story office building in downtown Malden that would add to a cluster of projects seeking to attract life-sciences companies to the city center.
The Malden City Council on June 22 signed off on the planned project by Quaker Lane Capital at 11 Dartmouth Street, where the developer says it intends to create space for retail, with offices above “targeted at innovation-driven tenants, including public and private sector organizations as well as entrepreneurial and research and development focused firms.”
The 160,000-square-foot project comes as developers throughout the region are investing heavily in lab space, betting that life sciences will be a key to the future of the Boston’s economy. In Malden, additional office space is coming online to support companies working on research and development.
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Exchange 200, a 300,000 square foot former bank building nearby, has been redeveloped and has special city permitting that would allow lab space. And 295 Canal Street, several blocks to the south, has more than 55,000 square feet for retail and office space and is zoned for industrial use.
Quaker Lane is still seeking an anchor tenant to help it shape the buildout of the Dartmouth Street site, though it says it may move forward on construction even before finding one. If it secures a large lease soon, the company said, it could begin construction next year and complete the building by early 2024. The developer still must get approval from the planning board to use the space for research and development.
Andy Rosen can be reached at andrew.rosen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @andyrosen.