Microsoft announced today that it will be taking over another chunk of Cambridge’s Kendall Square neighborhood this summer. The company said it will expand its New England Research & Development Center—affectionately known as NERD—by leasing another 113,000 square feet at One Cambridge Center, down the road from NERD’s One Memorial Drive location.
The initial phase of the One Cambridge Center expansion should be completed this summer, the company said, and will house the Microsoft Advertising team and employees from Navic, a Microsoft company in the TV advertising space, currently working out of Waltham, MA. In June, Microsoft will also bring its Beverly, MA-based SharePoint Workspace team to One Memorial Drive. These shifts will put the majority of the software giant’s 500-plus Bay State research and development employees in Cambridge, the company said. Microsoft will complete the expansion into the new space over the next three years, says NERD site director Sara Spalding.
“We definitely see a continued effort to recruit and hire top talent into this area,” Spalding told Xconomy. “The expansion really supports Microsoft’s continued investment in this area.”
One Cambridge Center is home to a number of other firms in the tech community, including the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, the One Laptop Per Child Foundation, online video-hosting company Brightcove, and supplier search engine startup Panjiva. The MIT Media Lab also has a presence in the high-rise building.
