The following announcement was provided by Berkeley Investments:
Berkeley Investments (Berkeley) recently announced that Culture Pop Soda, a rapidly growing functional soda brand, will be leasing over 6,000 square feet of space in the company’s 64 Pleasant Street development in Watertown, Massachusetts.
Culture Pop joins current tenant Via Separations, a growing clean tech startup, which signed a lease for more than 50,000 square feet of Class A lab space last year. Situated along the Charles River in Watertown, 64 Pleasant was recently redeveloped by Berkeley into a dynamic new hub of innovative companies, and was recently the location chosen by Governor Maura Healey to promote her climate tech Initiative investment of $1.3 billion, from the headquarters of Via Separations.
“We’re excited to relocate our offices to 64 Pleasant Street in Watertown,” says Tom First, Founder and CEO of Culture Pop Soda and co-founder of Nantucket Nectars. “This building’s rich history of innovation, research and product development is a perfect fit for our brand. Our new space will enable us to grow our team and attract best-in-class talent to continue building a leading brand in our category.”
Adds Dan McGrath, Berkeley’s Senior Vice President and Director of Asset Management, “Culture Pop Soda perfectly complements the lab, life sciences and clean tech companies that a building like 64 Pleasant is appealing to. Culture Pop prides itself on clean living, with a really clean ingredient list, and we think their business model is ideally suited for 64 Pleasant. They’ll fit in perfectly with Via Separations and the additional one or two life sciences and lab tenants we hope to attract in the near future and we are excited to link like-minded, forward-thinking companies in the same incubator tech space. 64 Pleasant is a unique building with best-in-class design where our tenants can work, collaborate, and innovate together against the scenic backdrop of the Charles River.”
Purchased from globally renowned architectural firm Sasaki back in 2021, Berkeley has transformed the 64 Pleasant Street site into state-of-the-art lab space in one of Watertown’s most iconic buildings. The historic mill and industrial building has often been recognized for pioneering innovative breakthroughs in the paper, manufacturing, printing and laundry service industries, before serving as Sasaki’s global headquarters for over 40 years.
Today, 64 Pleasant is a 105,000-square-foot mill building situated along the Charles River that Berkeley has thoroughly renovated to accommodate innovative, growing technology and life sciences companies in the center of Watertown. Berkeley has completed the highly complex base buildout that converted the 160-year-old building into a modern lab and R&D center. It features Class A lab space and amenities, including a spacious fitness wing with holistic amenities, cafe, conference center, ample bike storage, communal kitchen and commissioned artwork throughout the space. The outdoor patio and remaining available workspace provide sweeping views of the Charles River, making it one of the most sought after places to work in greater Boston. The building’s location offers easy access to public transit, the Massachusetts Turnpike, the Watertown Connector Shuttle to Harvard Square, and the Charles River Greenway Bike Path.
In this 64 Pleasant leasing transaction, Culture Pop Soda was represented by Nat Kessler and Sam Crossan of JLL. Newmark’s Dan Krysiak, Dave Townsend, Juliette Reiter, and Catie Tilton represented Berkeley.
A Senior Managing Director in Newmark’s Boston office, Krysiak shares, “Working closely with Berkeley, we identified a location within the 64 Pleasant building that was ideal for Culture Pop’s use and provided them with the creative space they were searching for to reflect their brand identity. There’s a flexibility in the space that allows Culture POP to commence construction and design quickly thereby allowing their team to move in by the end of this year. While we continue to cultivate lab, life sciences and clean tech tenants who appreciate the inherent value and many amenities that 64 Pleasant offers, we commend Berkeley’s creative commitment to uniting forward-thinking companies under the 64 Pleasant roof.”
About Berkeley
Berkeley is a Boston-based, certified MBE real estate investment and development company with a focus on urban residential, commercial and mixed-use properties. Founded in 1991, Berkeley has established a successful track record of investment management and value creation through a diverse portfolio that includes award-winning residential, commercial, arts, clean tech and life sciences projects throughout greater Boston.
A vertically integrated firm with proven in-house property, asset, construction, and development management capabilities, the company’s main focus is on transit-oriented, mixed-use properties with an emphasis on innovative design. Key developments include the historic conversion of 64 Pleasant Street in Watertown into innovative lab, life science, and clean tech space and the Waltham Watch Factory into commercial and residential space, as well as the adaptive reuse and reimagining of former industrial properties in communities including Somerville, Billerica, Malden and Charlestown.
Berkeley also managed the pioneering redevelopment of more than a dozen historic brick-and-beam buildings including FP3 and 381 Congress Street Lofts in Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood, and is currently advancing the redevelopment of 176 Lincoln Street in Boston’s Allston neighborhood as a mixed-use innovation village including lab and residential space situated around dynamic public and open spaces. Berkeley’s portfolio presently includes 1.5 million square feet of operating laboratory and life sciences properties and active developments in and around Boston. For more information, visit www.berkeleyinvestments.com.
About Culture Pop Soda
Culture Pop, a leading brand in the functional soda category, is a refreshing soda made with organic fruit juices and spices with a probiotic that promotes gut health. Founder Tom First started the company in 2020, and Culture Pop is now available in more than 10,000 retail stores across the country. In New England, Culture Pop is available at major retailers including Shaws, Stop & Shop, Whole Foods, Wegmans, and Walmart, in addition to the regional and independent retailers that have sold and supported the brand since its inception. Each of the brand’s eight flavors are based on familiar favorites, and are free from added sugar and artificial and high intensity sweeteners that are found in traditional sodas. More information is available at www.drinkculturepop.com.