Anastasia Barnes

It’ s officially sweater weather! The mornings are darker. I’ m finding myself reaching for a third cup of coffee, and it’ s time to pull those chunky sweaters out of storage. Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorites: a time for family and friends to come together and remember what we’ re grateful for.

This year, a lot of my gratitude goes to the people who make this publication possible. High-Profile has grown a great deal over the years, but one thing has never changed. Our advertisers, contributors and friends are the reason we exist. Without you, there is no High- Profile. Thank you.

This month we focus on life sciences, a sector that has weathered a challenging few years and is finding creative new ways forward. Adaptive reuse is a big part of that story. DPR Construction has converted a 275,000sf office building in

Converted lab in Bedford, MA / Photo by Warren Patterson Photography

Bedford into a lab, office and pilot plant facility( page 11). I love seeing an existing building get a second life, and this one is a great example of what’ s possible.

If you’ ve ever wondered about the ins and outs of turning a building designed for desks and conferences into a highperformance lab, don’ t miss this month’ s Ask the Electrician( page 12). Edward Gould of Interstate Electrical Services walks through the electrical challenges of an office-to-lab conversion, from power demand to the systems that keep sensitive research running. I learned a lot reading this one, and I think you will too.

Congrats to BW Kennedy & Co.! They earned an Eagle Award for Excellence in Construction from ABC MA for their 142,000sf fit-out of Persimmon Technologies’ robotics R & D facility in Bedford. The project included cleanrooms along with engineering and specialty

laboratories( page 48). Recognition like this is a reminder of how much skill and care goes into every project, and it’ s always a treat to see our friends celebrated.

Aerial view of Persimmon Technologies Photo by Damianos Photography

It’ s always exciting to see manufacturing growing in our own backyard, like REXA, Inc.’ s new 112,000sf corporate headquarters and advanced manufacturing facility at Campus 44 in Middleborough, designed by Maugel DeStefano Architects( page 39).

High-Profile is leaning more into events. I’ m thrilled about hosting the inaugural High-Profile Built Leadership Forum. It’ s the first time we’ ve put on an event of this caliber and size. On November 16 at The UMass Club in downtown Boston, we’ re putting the region’ s AEC and commercial real estate leaders in one room with a lineup I can’ t wait for you to hear. Tom O’ Brien of The HYM Investment Group will deliver the

keynote, Ken Simonson, chief economist of the Associated General Contractors of America, will break down where the economy is headed, and Jim Stanislaski of MassCEC will talk about demonstration projects and climatetech. You can get a preview of the conversation in our special section starting on page 23.

We want the audience to be part of the conversation, so come with questions and opinions. Seats are limited, so grab yours at builtleadershipforum. com / tickets. I hope to see you there!

Our December issue will be our last of 2026; and of course, this edition will include our annual GREEN supplement. It’ s a chance to look back on what the industry has accomplished and what has been built these past ten months. Do you have an interesting sustainable design project we should feature? The deadline for the GREEN supplement is November 11, and the deadline for the December issue is November 13, so pick up the phone or send me an email and let me know what you have going on.

As always, enjoy the read, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Anastasia Barnes