WILMINGTON, DEL. — Pennsylvania-based developer MRA Group has received $63 million for the redevelopment of Chestnut Run Innovation & Science Park, a 164-acre, 14-building development in Wilmington. MRA Group will use the funds to continue renovations of the campus’ 14 buildings to support lab, R&D and advanced manufacturing uses. Additional plans for the campus include a hotel, fitness center, conference facilities, an outdoor amphitheater and accommodations for food services. Fulton Bank, in conjunction with Nuveen Green Capital through C-PACE, financed $50 million of the funds, while WSFS Bank provided the remaining $13 million.
NEWTON, MASS. — Spindrift, a provider of sparkling water, has renewed and expanded its headquarters space at Chapel Bridge Park, an office and life sciences development located in the western suburb of Boston of Newton. The tenant now occupies more than 20,000 square feet at the eight-building, 250,000-square-foot campus, which is owned by The Bulfinch Cos. Jared Pimm of CBRE represented Spindrift in the lease negotiations.
ATLANTA — Trammell Crow Co. and partner Georgia Advanced Technology Ventures (GATV) have topped out Science Square Labs, a 13-story research-and-development (R&D) facility located adjacent to the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta. GATV is a cooperative organization of Georgia Tech. The 368,258-square-foot building is part of the first phase of Science Square, an 18-acre mixed-use development that will offer laboratory, R&D offices, dining options and residences. Brasfield & Gorrie is the general contractor on Phase I of Science Square. Also part of the first phase is a 280-unit residential tower by High Street Residential, an affiliate of Trammell Crow Co. The developers aim to deliver Phase I in the first quarter of 2024. Designed by Perkins & Will, Science Square Labs will feature wet and dry laboratories, collaborative spaces, food-and-beverage outlets, a fitness center, interactive conference rooms, indoor/outdoor lounge, catering kitchen and six “graduator” speculative lab/office suites that will accommodate growing life sciences firms. Additionally, Cherry Street Energy is installing a 38,000-square-foot solar panel array atop the parking garage. The design-build team is aiming for Science Square to achieve LEED Gold and WELL certifications. In addition to the topping out, the ownership group has signed the first tenant at Science …
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — Virginia-based Legacy Investing has completed a project in the Northern New Jersey community of Bridgewater that converted a 210,000-square-foot office building into a life sciences facility. The building at 77 Corporate Drive offers proximity to multiple interstates as well as Newark Liberty International Airport. A Fortune 500 global life sciences company recently signed a lease at the building, and Legacy Investing has engaged Cushman & Wakefield to market the remainder of the space for lease.
HOUSTON — McCord Development will build a 45-acre life sciences campus at Generation Park, the company’s 4,300-acre master-planned development in northeast Houston. Known as BioHub Two, the 500,000-square-foot campus represents the first phase of a larger life sciences development initiative at Generation Park and will house manufacturing, lab and traditional office space. McCord has concurrently invested $30 million in infrastructural upgrades to support the site. The construction timeline is contingent upon McCord securing a tenant or buyer for the site. Once a deal is secured, McCord could have buildings ready for occupancy within 18 to 24 months.
CHICAGO — Belay Diagnostics has signed a 4,000-square-foot lease within the science-ready lab suites at Fulton Labs in Chicago. The company, which uses a proprietary molecular testing platform licensed from Johns Hopkins to revolutionize how brain and spinal cord cancers are detected, will move into the fifth-floor space beginning in September. The science-ready lab suites at Fulton Labs are move-in ready private labs spanning 3,000 to 7,000 square feet. Dan Lyne and Kelsey Scheive of CBRE represented ownership, Trammell Crow Co.
ANDOVER, MASS. — Newmark has brokered the $58 million sale of two office and life sciences buildings totaling 273,662 square feet in Andover, a northern suburb of Boston. The building at 50 Minuteman Road totals 145,262 square feet and serves as the headquarters of Mercury, a provider of technology solutions for the aerospace and defense industries. The facility at 6 Technology Drive spans 128,400 square feet and serves as a design, development and manufacturing hub for Dräger, a supplier of medical and safety technology products. Robert Griffin, Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen and Samantha Hallowell of Newmark represented the seller, California-based REIT Peakstone Realty Trust, in the transaction. The team also procured the buyer, Boston-based Rhino Capital Advisors.
SAN DIEGO — Phase 3 Real Estate Partners has signed three new leases with life sciences companies at GENESIS-Del Mar, an 86,000-square-foot lab building in the Del Mar Heights submarket of San Diego. The building is located at 12250 El Camino Real. The new biotech companies, Mabwell Therapeutics, Genece Health and Lygos, will occupy spaces ranging from 4,000 square feet to 12,000 square feet. JLL’s Chad Urie, Grant Schoneman and Taylor DeBerry represented Phase 3 Real Estate Partners in the three lease transactions.
CHICAGO — Two tenants have expanded their leases within Fulton Labs, a 725,000-square-foot, two-building life sciences development in Chicago. The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago, a biomedical research institute launched by Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, signed a lease for 28,200 square feet at 400 N. Aberdeen St. The tenant initially signed a lease earlier this year at Fulton Labs’ other building, which is located at 1375 W. Fulton St. Since there is no further space at 1375 W. Fulton, the biohub will move into a new space at 400 N. Aberdeen in the first quarter of 2024, and temporarily occupy space in a science-ready lab suite at 1375 W. Fulton until then. Venture accelerator Portal Innovations is expanding its lease from 6,000 to 55,000 square feet at 400 N. Aberdeen. ESG Architects, CRB Group and Power Construction are completing the interior build-outs for both tenants. Dan Lyne of CBRE represented ownership, Trammell Crow Co.
BURLINGTON, MASS. — Envision Energy, a Chinese provider of wind turbines and other renewable energy products, has signed a 35,276-square-foot life sciences lease in Burlington, a northwestern suburb of Boston. The tenant has committed to a full-building lease within Northwest Park, a facility that is owned by Nordblom Co. Jim Boudrot, Steve James and Patrick Grady of Hunneman represented the tenant in the lease negotiations.