Industry News

Cisco Systems Inc., based in San Jose, Calif., is considering the purchase of an additional 56-acre parcel in Boxborough where the company currently proposes building 1.8 million sf of office and research space at three sites that total 580 acres. The additional 56 acres would provide room for another 240,000-sf office facility for a total of more than two million sf in the area. Total costs are estimated at more than $200 million.

Boston Internet City, a 450,000-sf telecom hotel under construction in Brighton, will be the largest such facility in New England. Carter & Burgess Inc. of Boston, known for its retrofits of older buildings for telecom purposes, is converting a former two-story warehouse above a Macy's store to a three-story facility. The developer is Cabot, Cabot & Forbes of New England Inc.

Eaton Semiconductor Equipment Operations has plans to expand in Beverly with a $22 million, 140,000-sf demonstration and applications lab and training center, along with expansion at its Rockville, Md., manufacturing plant.

Telecom Real Estate Services (TRES) of Los Angeles will invest $30 million to convert a 368,000-sf former A&P distribution center to a telecommunications switching station, or telecom hotel. According to TRES, the single-story structure has several advantages: generators can be placed outside the building, freeing roof space for cooling and other uses; and fiber-optic cables can be run through the ground to users rather than through the riser space encountered in multi-story buildings.

FleetBoston Financial Corp.'s primary data center and Upstate Division headquarters at Kiernan Plaza will undergo a $25 million "technology facelift." In addition to new computer hardware and software, the main and backup electrical supplies and HVAC systems will be improved. Fleet currently employs 450 people at the site, and plans to add an additional 100 technology workers.