Boston Scientific returns to region with East Bay lease

Boston Scientific is expanding in the Bay Area market after closing down its San Jose manufacturing plant in January.

The medical device manufacturer will operate out of the East Bay, based on a lease for nearly 140,000 square feet at an industrial facility in Fremont, according to public records.

The Massachusetts-based company has signed up for a 138,343-square-foot building owned by Redwood City-based Dollinger Properties located at 46400 Fremont Boulevard. Less than a year ago, Boston Scientific permanently closed the doors of its San Jose facility, laying off 170 employees in the process.

At the time, Boston Scientific said that operations at the plant could continue elsewhere.

“As part of a restructuring plan announced in 2018, we are transferring the work currently performed at our Baytech site in San Jose, California, to other Boston Scientific sites,” the company said in a statement. “Transferring work among our facilities helps us align our products, capabilities, technologies and resources to support our business strategies.”

A year prior, Boston Scientific also closed down its plant in Bothell, Washington due to the decision to stop selling a product because of a recall. A total of 230 employees were laid off.

As demand outpaces supply for industrial space, companies look to secure logistics and manufacturing space in an East Bay market with limited inventory, according to a second-quarter report by JLL. Asking rents have increased by 11.5 percent to $1.26 per square foot. According to the report, breaking ground on new construction will not happen until late 2023 or early 2024, which has driven up rent and increased pre-leasing activity.

Fremont has been one of the most active cities in the East Bay’s industrial market. Scannell Properties secured an Asian-themed shopping center earlier this summer for $83 million, with plans to redevelop it as an industrial campus. Bloom Energy opened the doors to its 165,000-square-foot manufacturing plant last month, which it claims was a $200 million investment.

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