SEATTLE — BioMed Realty, a San Diego-based owner-operator of healthcare real estate and a Blackstone portfolio company, has acquired a life sciences development site in Seattle. The sales price was $127 million, according to The Puget Sound Business Journal.
BioMed plans to develop 616,000 square feet of life sciences space at the site, which is known as Denny Park South and comprises two adjacent parcels totaling 1.6 acres in South Lake Union/Denny Triangle neighborhood. The location is also near a variety of healthcare facilities and research institutions, notes Jon Bergschneider, president of West Coast markets at BioMed Realty.
“The South Lake Union/Denny Triangle cluster is flush with renowned research institutes like the University of Washington School of Medicine, Gates Foundation, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Allen Institute, as well as large tech users such as Amazon, Meta and Apple,” he says.
Following this development, BioMed’s life sciences portfolio in Seattle, which includes the recently completed flagship Dexter Yard project in South Lake Union, will total approximately 1.8 million square feet. A tentative construction timeline for the Denny Park South project was not disclosed.
The acquisition of Denny Park South follows BioMed’s purchase of T6 Innovation Center, located at 200 Taylor Avenue N. in Seattle. Combined, these two deals lay the groundwork for the developer to add some 1.2 million square feet of life sciences space to the local supply.
On a regional basis, BioMed’s life sciences footprint, including projects in its development pipeline, totals some 2.4 million square feet. Tenants at these properties include the Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Novo Nordisk, Omeros Corp., InBios International Inc., Lyell Immunopharma Inc., Shape Therapeutics and Tableau.
Kevin Shannon, Ken White and Tim O’Keefe of Newmark represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. BioMed anticipates investing an additional $700 million to develop these new facilities and expects to create nearly 850 new local construction jobs in the process.
“BioMed remains focused on growth and expansion in our established core markets like Seattle, where market fundamentals remain strong and innovation ecosystems are thriving,” says Tim Schoen, CEO of BioMed Realty. “We now have the ability to double our footprint in this market and continue investing in mission-critical lab infrastructure needed to meet strong tenant demand as life sciences and technology companies grow and scale.”
— Taylor Williams