Greater Boston's hottest lab building isn't in Kendall Square. It's in Watertown.

"LabShares chief executive Philip Borden said the building was "in the Goldilocks zone" from his perspective: close enough to the biotech hotbed of Kendall Square and to Logan Airport, but with manageable commutes for suburban executives and lower lease costs. Borden is nearly maxed out at the current location for LabShares, which offers 44,000 square feet of coworking space for biotechs at a nearby complex in Newton. This move to expand into 66 Galen will more than double his company's footprint."

"Co-developer Davis Companies had originally hoped to attract a big pharma tenant that would lease the entire thing. But then biotech entrepreneur Greg Verdine showed up. While he wasn't about to occupy the whole building at big-pharma prices, he provided crucial momentum by leasing more than half of the space for two of his companies. More recently, two other life sciences companies, NanoDx and Psivant, each took about 20,000 square feet."

Greater Boston's lab market shows widespread vacancies, but 66 Galen St. near the Newton-Watertown line is nearly fully occupied after recent leases. Coworking operator LabShares signed nearly 58,000 square feet, expanding beyond its existing 44,000-square-foot Newton location and more than doubling its footprint. LabShares CEO Philip Borden cited proximity to Kendall Square and Logan Airport, manageable suburban commutes, and lower lease costs as advantages. The 224,000-square-foot building, completed last year without a tenant, initially sought a single big-pharma occupant. Entrepreneur Greg Verdine and companies NanoDx and Psivant filled substantial portions of the space.

Read at Boston.com