NATICK, MASS. — Regional design-build firm Dacon Corp. has completed a 35,000-square-foot life sciences project in Natick, a western suburb of Boston. The facility is the third in the area for ABI-LAB, a user that provides shared laboratory services for researchers in fields such as immunology, oncology, regenerative medicine, diagnostics and precision medicine. The newest facility houses 10 labs that range in size from 900 to 2,500 square feet and brings ABI-LAB’s total Natick footprint to roughly 112,000 square feet.
Life Sciences
Diversified Healthcare Trust Sells 186,000 SF Life Sciences Campus in San Diego for $159M
by Amy Works
SAN DIEGO — Diversified Healthcare Trust, which is managed by The RMR Group, has completed the sale of MUSE, a three-building life sciences campus in San Diego, to Breakthrough Properties for $159 million. Substantially renovated between 2020 and 2022, the 186,000-square-foot asset consists of two fully leased wet lab buildings and one vacant office building. Overall, MUSE is 49 percent leased to Merck, Aegis Life, Organogenesis and Halloran. The renovation included the addition of a fitness center, full-service cafe and an indoor/outdoor conference center. MUSE is located at 3030, 3040 and 3050 Science Park Road in the Torrey Pines submarket of San Diego. JLL Capital Markets Investment Sales and Advisory team led by Kurt Luedkte and Zac Saloff represented the seller. JLL also arranged post-closing financing for the two buildings and will continue to handle leasing for the entire MUSE campus.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Newmark has brokered the sale of a life sciences building located at 359 Allston St. in Cambridge. According to LoopNet Inc., the building was constructed in 1987 and totals 7,517 square feet. The building was renovated in 2022 and was fully leased at the time of sale to Vaxess Technologies. Robert Griffin, Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen, James Tribble, Samantha Hallowell, William Sleeper, Joseph Alvarado and Casey Valente of Newmark represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction and procured the buyer, King Street Properties.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) has unveiled plans for its new global headquarters in Cambridge, located across the Charles River from Boston. The biotechnology company has selected Kendall Common, located at 75 Broadway, as the site of its new hub as part of a multi-year consolidation plan in Massachusetts that encompasses Biogen’s existing facilities in the Kendall Square area of Boston. Specifically, Biogen has signed a 15-year lease to occupy 580,000 square feet of office and life sciences space at Kendall Common, which is being developed by a joint venture between Blackstone subsidiary BioMed Realty and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Investment Management Co. The space will feature upgraded workspaces and modern amenities, along with sustainable design elements such as advanced water conservation measures and energy-efficient systems. In addition, the building will house the Biogen CoLab, a classroom-style community laboratory and collaborative space. Occupancy is slated for 2028.
Johnson & Johnson Breaks Ground on $2B Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Facility in Wilson, North Carolina, As Part of $55B Investment
by John Nelson
WILSON, N.C. AND NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), has broken ground on a $2 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Wilson, about 50 miles east of Raleigh. The project is part of a larger, $55 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing, research-and-development (R&D) and technology initiatives that the global pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer health products provider is planning over the next four years. “Today’s announcements accelerate our nearly 140-year legacy as an American innovation engine tackling the world’s toughest healthcare challenges,” says Joaquin Duato, chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson. “Our increased U.S. investment begins with the ground-breaking of a high-tech facility in North Carolina that will not only add U.S.-based jobs but manufacture cutting-edge medicines to treat patients in America and around the world.” The new manufacturing facility will span approximately 500,000 square feet and will create 5,000 construction jobs, as well as 500 specialized positions for employees and contractors, including process technicians, laboratory analysts, engineers and microbiologists. Upon completion, Johnson & Johnson plans to produce medicines for people with cancer, immune-mediated and neurological diseases at the Wilson plant. The company estimates that the facility will have an economic impact of $3 billion in North …
Partnership to Open 808,000 SF First Phase of Aggie Square on UC Davis Health Campus in Sacramento
by Amy Works
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — Baltimore-based Wexford Science + Technology, in partnership with The University of California, Davis and the City of Sacramento, has announced the groundbreaking of Aggie Square, a mixed-use development at UC Davis Health Campus in Sacramento. Located at the corner of Stockton Boulevard and 2nd Avenue, Aggie Square’s first phase will offer 808,000 square feet of upscale Class A life sciences research labs, technology and office space, plus housing and retail space. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for May 2. Situated on 8.2 acres, Phase I consists of a 313,000-square-foot lab and life sciences building, a 255,000-square-foot Lifelong Learning office and classroom building, a 35,000-square-foot UC Veterinary Genetics Lab, and Anova Aggie Square, a 190-unit residential development with 15,000 square feet of retail space. The first phase also offers community serving uses, a parking structure and indoor/outdoor public spaces. Each building is anchored by UC Davis programs and configured to co-locate private industry investment and innovation infrastructure for startups, as well as community-based partnerships. The project team is also marketing another 313,000-square-foot lab and life sciences building with ground-floor retail located at 100 Aggie Square. The building offers flexible design, and construction will commence once preleasing thresholds are met. …
CHICAGO — Trammell Crow Co. (TCC) has inked leases with three tenants at 400 North Aberdeen within its Fulton Labs campus in Chicago’s Fulton Market neighborhood. The leases total approximately 40,000 square feet and include extensions and expansions from Portal Innovations and Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago and a headquarters relocation for P33 Chicago. All three tenants are expected to occupy their new spaces by this summer. Portal Innovations is a venture development platform that invests financial, physical and human capital to fuel life sciences breakthroughs. The company has extended its existing lease of 40,000 square feet and grown its footprint to 53,000 square feet, expanding to the 10th floor. Portal’s expansion at its flagship location will help accommodate its growing portfolio, which now includes more than 50 companies. Portal also operates labs in Atlanta, Boston and Houston, and is opening a new lab in partnership with the University of Chicago in Hyde Park Labs. CZ Biohub Chicago is a biomedical research institute led by Shana Kelley, Ph.D and launched by Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg’s Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Opened in 2024, the organization has extended its existing lease of 28,000 square feet and expanded to 41,000 square feet. The expansion …
BEDFORD, MASS. — A joint venture between San Francisco-based Shorenstein Investment Advisors and Boston-based investment firm Tritower has purchased The Xchange, a 480,000-square-foot office and life sciences campus in Bedford, located northwest of Boston. The site of the eight-building development is located along State Route 3 and adjacent to the interchange with State Route 128 and can support future expansion. At the time of sale, The Xchange was 99 percent leased to tenants in industries such as robotics, battery development, diagnostic instruments and advanced materials technology. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.
Semiconductor Manufacturer TSMC to Invest $100B in US, Including Development of Six New Facilities
by John Nelson
HSINCHU, TAIWAN —TSMC (NYSE: TSM), a Taiwanese manufacturer of semiconductors, has announced plans to invest at least $100 billion in the United States, which would bring the company’s total investment in its U.S. manufacturing base to $165 billion. As part of the new round of investment, TSMC plans to develop three more fabs (i.e. manufacturing plants), two advanced packaging facilities and a major research-and-development (R&D) center in Arizona. Once fully realized, the project will be solidified as the “largest single foreign direct investment in U.S. history,” according to TSMC. The construction timeline was not disclosed, but U.S. President Donald Trump and TSMC CEO C.C. Wei announced the investment at a press conference on Monday, with Trump saying the investment will be made “over the next short period of time.” TSMC’s expanded investment is expected to support 40,000 construction jobs over the next four years and create tens of thousands of high-tech jobs in advanced chip manufacturing and R&D, which Trump said would range between 20,000 and 25,000 jobs. Yahoo! Finance reported that Intel is currently the only computer chip manufacturer with a dedicated R&D center in the United States. TSMC is currently building out its 1,100-acre campus in north Phoenix, …
ATLANTA — Battery manufacturer Duracell has selected Science Square in Midtown Atlanta for its new global headquarters for research-and-development (R&D). Trammell Crow Co. and Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) jointly own the 18-acre Science Square development, which sits adjacent to Georgia Tech’s campus. Duracell plans to invest approximately $56 million into its new space at 101 Nerem St. NW and create 110 jobs. Civic and utility partners that helped Duracell in its site selection include the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Global Commerce team, Invest Atlanta, Select Fulton, Metro Atlanta Chamber, Georgia Power and the University System of Georgia. Duracell has had a footprint in Georgia for years. The company currently has a manufacturing facility in LaGrange that has been in operation since 1980 and a logistics and distribution plant in Fairburn that began operations in 2020.
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