WOBURN, MASS. — Type One Energy Group has signed a 15,500-square-foot life sciences lease in the northern Boston suburb of Woburn. The Wisconsin-based provider of clean energy solutions is relocating from nearby Somerville to 299 Washington St., which is owned by Cummings Properties. The new space will house office, manufacturing and lab uses. Al Diamond internally negotiated the lease on behalf of Cummings Properties. No third-party brokers were involved in the deal.
— By Alex Browne, life sciences research director, Transwestern Real Estate Service — The San Francisco Bay Area life sciences market has been resilient in the face of the economic headwinds of the past 18 months. Despite the mix of issues besetting other commercial real estate asset classes, life sciences assets have fared well, with quality science continuing to thrive. Any shifts within the life sciences sector have been among the landlords and tenants, as the change in deal influence has varied over the past 12 months. Starting in 2017, the bulk of the deal leverage was on the landlord’s side. This, in turn, sparked an appetite for new development looking to meet the increased demand. It wasn’t until 2022 that the tide began to turn, with tenants gaining more leverage in negotiating renewals or electing to search for more favorable, high-quality space. Even though the market’s activity tends to be overshadowed by industry headlines, deals are being done, and space is being delivered and absorbed — albeit at a slower pace. The Bay Area continues to be the second-largest life sciences hub in the nation, with healthy industry drivers that continue to fuel innovation. The region is home to …
PLEASANTON, CALIF. — Ware Malcomb, serving as civil engineering, interior architecture and design-and-build measurement services, and Metcon, as general contractor, have completed a 120,000-square-foot tenant improvement project for Unchained Labs. Located at 4747 Willow Road in the Bay Area city of Pleasanton, the two-story building features 53,887 square feet of office space, 20,379 square feet of manufacturing space and 14,779 square feet of lab and warehouse space. The newly designed facility also includes an “all hands room;” a gym and locker area with specialty private shower areas; wet labs for life sciences research and development designed with a plug-and-play approach; a lab area with a clean room and humidity-controlled room facilities; electric vehicle charging stations; and loading docks. Unchained Labs develops new tools for biologics and gene therapy researchers.
SAN DIEGO — Montana Avenue Capital Partners has completed the disposition of a two-building R&D and laboratory portfolio, located at 16981 Via Tazon and 11501 Rancho Bernardo Blvd. in the Rancho Bernardo submarket of San Diego. Dollinger Properties acquired the asset for $30.8 million. The portfolio consists of two fully leased buildings offering a combined rentable area of 90,000 square feet. Bob Prendergast and Lynn LaChapelle of JLL Capital Markets, along with Tim Olson and Greg Moore of JLL, represented the seller and procured the buyer in the deal.
PHOENIX — Lasalle Co. LLC and Hannay Investment Properties have sold a 25,569-square-foot lab space at 2801 S. 35th St. in Phoenix. PR & MC Properties LLC purchased the asset for $6.3 million, or $246 per square foot. Nextmune, a global animal pharmaceutical company, fully leases the property. Originally built in 1991, the building was renovated last year to include a state-of-the-art, FDA-certified laboratory and manufacturing facility with multiple clean rooms and built-in coolers. Situated on 1.9 acres, the property serves as one of Nextmune’s five laboratory facilities around the globe and its only U.S. location. The property features 142 parking spaces, a gated yard and loading docks with one grade-level door and one truck well. Geoffrey Turbow of CBRE Investment Properties represented the seller in the deal.
WALTHAM, MASS. — General contractor J. Calnan & Associates has completed a 52,000-square-foot life sciences project in the western Boston suburb of Waltham. The facility at 880 Winter St. is a build-to-suit for biotechnology user Lyra Therapeutics and features a 5,000-square-foot manufacturing space, quality control labs, support labs and office space. Perkins & Will served as the project architect, with BR&A Engineers handling that aspect of development. Boston Properties owns the building.
BEDFORD, MASS. — A partnership between Redgate, Optimum Asset Management and AEW Capital Management has delivered Riverwalk Labs, a 168,000-square-foot life sciences and manufacturing project in Bedford, about 20 miles northwest of Boston. The developers converted a former office building into a facility with 20,000-square-foot lab and office suites, as well as four separate tenant lobbies and multiple loading docks. Ci Design served as the project architect, and J. Calnan & Associates served as the general contractor.
SAN DIEGO — Biotest Inc. has purchased a research and development (R&D) facility, located at 10140 Mesa Rim in the Sorrento Mesa neighborhood of San Diego, for $23 million. The China-based life sciences company plans to use the 42,547-square-foot property for product development and distribution. Todd Holley of Voit Real Estate Services represented the buyer in the transaction. The name of the seller was not released.
SUFFERN, N.Y. — Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) has purchased Avon Innovation Center, a 235,000-square-foot life sciences facility in Suffern, located just across the New York-New Jersey border. The seller, pharmaceutical company Avon, will be vacating the building in the near future. Larry Carroll, Shawn Straka, David Bernhaut, Frank DiTommaso and Seth Zuidema of Cushman & Wakefield, along with Michael Katz of Actio Corporate Advisors, represented Avon in the transaction. Dan Loughlin and Matt Loughlin of JLL represented Regeneron.
WALTHAM, MASS. — BPGbio has signed a 70,000-square-foot office and life sciences lease in the western Boston suburb of Waltham. The AI-powered biopharmaceutical company plans to relocate from nearby Framingham to two full floors of the 143,533-square-foot facility at 300 Third Ave. next summer. Tim Latham, Christopher Scott and Chris Devaux internally represented the landlord, Dallas-based Lincoln Property Co., in the lease negotiations. Paul Delaney, Adam Subber and Nate Heilbron of Cresa represented BPGbio.