WORCESTER—AbbVie has filed plans with the Worcester Planning Board to construct a new 55,211-square-foot building at its Research Drive campus, marking the latest expansion for one of the city’s most prominent life sciences employers.
According to city records submitted June 19, the proposed three-story structure includes warehouse space on the ground floor, a new employee cafeteria on the second floor, and general office space on the third. Site plans also call for outdoor patio areas, landscaping improvements, and changes to internal campus roadways to separate pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
The pharmaceutical campus, located off Belmont Street, has been a fixture in Worcester’s bioscience landscape for decades. Originally developed under BASF and later acquired by Abbott Laboratories in 2001, the site became part of AbbVie in 2013 following a corporate spinoff. It’s also widely known as the place where Humira—one of the best-selling drugs of all time—was developed and marketed.
The new construction represents not just a physical addition to the site but a strategic move to better allocate space across the campus, said Worcester Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn in a July 3 interview with the Worcester Guardian. The added warehouse and cafeteria capacity will free up existing building space for potential expansion in research and manufacturing.
“This is an investment,” Dunn said. “It shows continued confidence in the city’s biotech ecosystem.”
Dunn noted that while the city has long been in conversations with AbbVie about workforce development and training programs, officials had not directly collaborated on the scope of this project. No public incentives, such as tax increment financing (TIF), have been discussed, he said.
The expansion aligns with Worcester’s broader push to grow its biomanufacturing and life sciences sectors, especially in the Reactory—a 46-acre biomanufacturing park adjacent to the AbbVie site. That park, which houses companies such as WuXi Biologics and Galaxy Life Sciences, was launched as part of a state-level initiative under former Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito to convert 46 acres of former state hospital land into a hub for advanced manufacturing.
“This is exactly the kind of growth that was envisioned when the Reactory concept took off,” Dunn said. “It’s good to see that vision being fulfilled.”
The company’s latest physical expansion in Worcester comes as AbbVie also announced on June 30 that it will acquire San Diego-based Capstan Therapeutics in a $2.1 billion deal. The acquisition strengthens AbbVie’s immunology pipeline and includes a promising in vivo CAR-T cell therapy platform aimed at treating autoimmune diseases.
The planning board is scheduled to review the project at its July 23 meeting. According to the submitted materials, the new building will not require utility connections to public infrastructure and includes modern stormwater management and fire access upgrades. The estimated area of disturbance is about 2.6 acres.
While details on job creation or investment totals have not yet been made public, city officials expect the project will position AbbVie for continued growth in Worcester’s increasingly competitive life sciences market.
AbbVie representatives have not yet responded to a request for additional information and interviews. Refresh this page for any updates.
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