As the Boston life sciences cluster pushes further into suburban markets, viable lab-ready real estate that allows for speed to market is at a premium. CM&B Inc., a prominent Boston-based construction management firm and general contractor, recently turned over Freudenberg's new 37,000-SF Global Headquarters Medical Device and Distribution Facility, a project three years in the making.

Dave Fonzo, developer and president of Aero Manufacturing Corporation in Beverly, Mass., engaged CM&B as a pre-construction partner in the project’s infancy. Through iterations of conceptual site plans and building footprint sizes, CM&B unlocked the site’s development potential and then engaged a broader team of an architect, engineer, and real estate broker to develop drawings for site plan approval and market the site.

While the team at Colliers marketed the shovel-ready site, CM&B continued to develop conceptual build to suit budgets to substantiate Fonzo’s development proforma. When Colliers presented Freudenberg Medical as a potential tenant, the CM&B team continued to refine the budget for a build-to-suit shell, ultimately helping Fonzo successfully negotiate a 20-year lease on the building.

Greg Klemmer of Colliers International said, “CM&B was integral in making this deal happen, not to mention constructing a best in class manufacturing facility. CM&B wore many hats as this transaction evolved and did it seamlessly. We were extremely impressed with their professionalism and problem solving.“

With a defined construction budget, all parties had a clear picture of the financial commitment required to complete the real estate transaction.

CM&B then seamlessly moved into construction of the new ground-up pre-engineered building. The early engagement of the construction team offered tremendous value to both the developer and the end-user and ultimately led to the successful construction completion of both the building shell and the interior fit-out, paving the way for Freudenberg Medical to join the Boston medtech community.

Freudenberg Medical’s CFO Kurt Ziminski shared, “CM&B understood our budgetary constraints and worked with Freudenberg Medical to deliver an operational building within our financial target. They provided consistent project management support, openly communicated, and worked through issues with ease. CM&B is a solid Construction Management Firm and made it easy to develop a working, trustful relationship. With the success of our new global headquarters project, our team looks forward to future opportunities to work with the CM&B team.”

Project Details

• Construction of a new 37,000-SF ground-up Medical Manufacturing and Distribution Facility to support Freudenberg customers' mass production of finished medical devices.
• Pre-engineered building envelope and building automation systems promoting added sustainability
• Complex engineered air and electrical systems supporting massive cleanroom extrusion operations for medical plastics and tube type devices.
• Promoted speed to market capacity by engineering robust utilities and systems to protect combustible plastics stored in industrial high-bay racking systems.
• Mechanical systems with dedicated supply air and HEPA units are incorporated to enhance air purification in the lab settings.
• The operation will be FDA-registered and ISO 13485 certified Quality Management System with ISO Class 8 cleanrooms for medical molding and assembly.