Life Sciences

KENILWORTH, N.J. — Biopharmaceutical giant Merck (NYSE: MRK) has agreed to sell its 108-acre office and research campus in Kenilworth to a joint venture between private investment firms Onyx Equities and Machine Investment Group. The price was not disclosed. The life sciences campus, formerly Merck’s headquarters, features 1.4 million square feet of laboratory space, 500,000 square feet of Class A office space, 30 acres of developable land, a 25-megawatt cogeneration plant, three cafeterias, a fitness center, auditoriums, conference centers, outdoor amenity areas and more than 3,200 surface and structured parking spaces. The property sits off Garden State Parkway and is located near to Route 78, the Route 22 retail corridor, the New Jersey Turnpike, Newark Liberty International Airport and the Port Newark Elizabeth Marine Terminal. Kenilworth is located just across the Arthur Kill waterway that separates New Jersey from Staten Island. The buyers plan to market and lease out the site’s laboratories and support facilities to biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and technology companies. Merck will vacate the property in phases over the next several years while expansion progresses on the firm’s new headquarters in nearby Rahway. “New Jersey receives two forms of good news today as one of the pillars of our business community …

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MARLBOROUGH, MASS. — Oxford Properties Group has acquired 92 Crowley Drive, a 120,000-square-foot biomanufacturing facility in Marlborough, approximately 20 miles west of Boston. The property is currently under construction. Resilience, a life sciences company that develops and produces medicine, sold the asset for $125 million. As part of the transaction, Oxford will lease 92 Crowley Drive back to Resilience for up to 30 years. PGIM provided $58 million in fixed-rate acquisition financing for the deal. Upon final completion in late 2023, 92 Crowley will be Resilience’s flagship facility in the U.S., featuring state-of-the-art analytical and manufacturing technology. The facility is designed with multi-modality manufacturing capabilities, dedicated manufacturing suites and complementary office and warehouse space. Resilience has become a leading biomanufacturing company with manufacturing facilities across North America. The transaction at 92 Crowley represents the third sale-leaseback between Oxford and Resilience in a growing strategic partnership. Following the acquisition, Oxford’s biomanufacturing portfolio totals 1.4 million square feet of completed buildings, with a development pipeline of an additional 1 million square feet. While the portfolio is spread across six markets, the largest concentration — 775,000 square feet — is in metro Boston. “We continue to develop a robust expertise on the real …

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HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. — Crescent Communities and Nuveen Real Estate have broken ground on the second phase of THE YIELD, a speculative biomanufacturing development in Holly Springs, roughly 20 miles southwest of Raleigh. This phase will comprise three shell-ready, cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practice) biomanufacturing buildings totaling 322,000 square feet. The first two buildings are scheduled for completion in late 2023, with the third delivery expected in spring 2024. Including the first phase, which was sold to Apollo Global Real Estate and GeneSuites and is now known as Catalyst BioCampus, the development will total 2 million square feet of biomanufacturing, office/lab and retail space.

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CARLSBAD, CALIF. — BentallGreenOak has acquired a R&D/life sciences flex building at 2210 Faraday Ave. within the Faraday Research Center in Carlsbad. Hill Cos. sold the freestanding asset for $35.7 million. The property consists of a single-story, 119,591-square-foot building with second-floor mezzanine space, 24-foot clear heights, dock and grade-level loading, heavy power and ample parking. Originally built in 1997, the property underwent significant renovates in 2005 and features existing life sciences and R&D buildout. Aric Starck and Drew Dodds of Cushman & Wakefield’s capital markets team in San Diego represented the seller in the deal. Don Trapani provided leasing advisory for the property.

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PLANO, TEXAS — NexPoint, a Dallas-based alternative investment firm, has announced plans for TxS District, a 200-acre life sciences development in Plano. The project, named to signify ‘Technology x Science,’ centers on a 91-acre main campus, which previously served as headquarters for Electronic Data Systems. The district would incorporate 109 additional acres in the Legacy neighborhood. In total, the project would create over 4 million square feet of lab, office and production space across four phases of construction. NexPoint purchased the main campus in 2018 and has been acquiring the additional acreage since that time. Phases I and II of the project propose to transform two existing buildings on the main campus into 970,000 square feet of lab and office space and 120,000 square feet of amenity space. Initial site improvement plans also include a public park, amphitheater and connectivity to the nearby Legacy retail development. The developer plans to break ground on Phase I before the end of the year. NexPoint has proposed that the project be achieved through a public-private partnership. The firm is working with the City of Plano on development plans and the project’s impact on the surrounding area. “Not only would this project be a …

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PHILADELPHIA — SkyREM has unveiled plans to redevelop Philadelphia’s historic Quartermaster site into the Quartermaster Science + Technology Park, a $250 million life sciences project. The development will include wet and dry lab space for both life sciences startups and established companies to conduct full-scale research and development, and bio-manufacturing. Plans also call for retail and restaurant space, a hotel and other amenities. Named the Schuylkill Arsenal when it was first built in 1800, the Quartermaster site provided the U.S. military with supplies and outfitted the Lewis and Clark expedition. Around the time of World War I, the facility was expanded to meet demand for uniforms and gear and was renamed Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot. The campus was again expanded during World War II. The clothing factory at the Quartermaster site officially closed in 1994 after operations were transferred to Northeast Philadelphia. The demolition of five original World War I warehouses took place in 1999. SkyREM purchased the campus in 2001 and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. Currently, the property serves as the headquarters for Indego bicycle transit and is home to other tenants in the healthcare and security sectors. The Quartermaster Science + …

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By Scott Dunwoody, Cushman & Wakefield It’s not too much of a stretch to say that St. Louis’ life sciences sector dates back to Lewis & Clark’s Corps of Discovery and all the scientific findings revealed upon their return to the city in 1806. More than two centuries later, St. Louis remains at the forefront of life sciences.  The region is a center of plant science research and a cornerstone of global agriculture technology, with institutions such as Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) and St. Louis University playing critical roles in the biotech and medical fields. These factors translate into significant economic development benefits for the region and a positive impact on the area’s commercial real estate market. St. Louis is home to the largest concentration of plant scientist PhDs in the world. All that talent supports and drives more than 750 plant and medical science organizations across the region, including large employers such as Bayer (formerly Monsanto), Bunge, Benson Hill, IFF, Novus and Pfizer, and has led to significant investments throughout the region. What’s more, St. Louis ranks No. 14 nationally in National Institutes of Health funding, having secured more than $3.3 billion in the past five years.  …

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DURHAM, N.C. — Eli Lilly and Co., a pharmaceutical giant based in Indianapolis, plans to invest $450 million to expand its campus within Research Triangle Park (RTP) in Durham. The expansion includes additional parenteral filling, device assembly and packaging capacity to support an increased demand for the company’s incretin products that treat diabetes. The move is expected to create at least 100 new jobs, primarily comprising manufacturing personnel who will produce incretin treatments and medical devices. Eli Lilly expects the new facility to come on line in 2027. Since 2020, the company has committed roughly $4 billion to new manufacturing facilities in North Carolina, including $1.7 billion for the development and expansion of its RTP base.

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BILLERICA, MASS. — Newmark has negotiated a 30,665-square-foot lease at Axis Park North, a six-building, 450,000-square-foot office and life sciences campus in Billerica, a northern suburb of Boston. Rory Walsh, Richard Ruggiero, Torin Taylor and Matthew Adams of Newmark represented the landlord, a partnership between Boston-based Camber Development and Wheelock Street Capital, in the lease negotiations. Kevin Kennedy and Tom Hovey of CBRE represented the tenant, ASMPT AEi, a provider of automated cameras and other digital technologies.

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WALTHAM, MASS. — Alcresta Therapeutics, which develops enzyme-based treatments for rare diseases, has signed a 14,441-square-foot life sciences lease at 130 Turner Street, a 270,000-square-foot facility located in the western Boston suburb of Waltham. Matt Malatesta, Mike Frisoli, Tyler McGrail, Margaret Fee and Eric Jeremiah of Newmark represented the landlord, Jumbo Capital, in the lease negotiations. Ned Halloran and Connor Hayes of Hunneman represented the tenant

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