EXTON, PA. — KOKO Medical has signed a 19,859-square-foot life sciences in Exton, a western suburb of Philadelphia. The medical device and women’s healthcare provider is relocating and expanding from nearby Malvern to the 63,000-square-foot building at 770 Pennsylvania Drive, which is part of the 800-acre Eagleview mixed-use development. Mitch Reading of Tactix Real Estate Advisors represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Sam Sherrill represented the landlord, Hankin Group, on an internal basis.
SEATTLE — Alexandria Real Estate Equities, through an affiliate, has completed the sale of 1165 Eastlake Avenue East in Seattle’s Lake Union submarket to long-standing tenant Fred Hutch Cancer Center for $150 million. Alexandria developed and delivered the 100,086-square-foot, single-tenant, Class A life sciences building in 2021. Proceeds from the disposition of 1165 Eastlake will be reinvested into Alexandria’s leased development and redevelopment pipeline, which consists of research-and-development centers for top life sciences companies, including Bristol Myers Squibb and Novo Nordisk. As part of the transaction, Alexandria, through an affiliate, entered into a strategic joint venture partnership with Fred Hutch for nearby 1201 and 1208 Eastlake Avenue East, aggregating 206,031 rentable square feet, through a transfer of partial interests from the prior joint venture partner to Fred Hutch. Alexandria’s ownership interest in each 1201 and 1208 Eastlake remains unchanged at 30 percent. Fred Hutch executed early renewals at both properties, including a 15-year lease extension at 1201 Eastlake, where it occupies the entire building. These two life sciences facilities support the cancer center in its efforts to translate cancer and infectious disease discoveries into treatments and cures.
WEBSTER, TEXAS — Ascension Advisory has arranged the sale-leaseback of a 59,720-square-foot life sciences facility in Webster, a southeastern suburb of Houston. The property was originally built in 1984. The acquisition of the facility comes as part of the buyer, mission-critical materials and chemicals manufacturer VION Biosciences, purchasing both the business operations and physical real estate of the tenant, Ansh Labs, including the Webster facility. The sales price and lease details were not disclosed.
BEDFORD, MASS. — A partnership between Boston-based Camber Development and Connecticut-based Wheelock Street Capital has completed a 147,000-square-foot industrial and life sciences project in Bedford, about 20 miles northwest of Boston. The project represents Phase I of a larger manufacturing campus known as 44 Middlesex, and the second phase will also center on the delivery of a 147,000-square-foot building. Construction of that facility is expected to begin in 2025 and to last about a year. Both buildings will be two-story structures and will have 105,000 square feet on the ground floor and a 42,000-square-foot mezzanine space on the second floor, as well as clear heights of 36 feet. Newmark is the leasing agent for the development.
BEDFORD, MASS. — JLL has arranged a $150 million loan for the refinancing of Bedford Labs, a 288,000-square-foot life sciences facility located about 20 miles northwest of Boston. Bedford Labs, which sits on a 52-acre site that can support up to 300,000 square feet of new construction, is a redevelopment of a former single-tenant office building. The facility includes a 28,000-square-foot amenity space and was fully leased to biotechnology firm Sarepta Therapeutics at the time of the loan closing. Brett Paulsrud, Tom Sullivan and Mike Shepard of JLL arranged the loan through an affiliate of Apollo Global Management. The borrower is a partnership between AEW Capital Management, Redgate and Optimum Asset Management.
PLANO, TEXAS — The Plano City Council has approved a development agreement to support the Texas Research Quarter (TRQ), a life sciences-focused innovation district. The first phase would involve redevelopment and new construction at the former Electronic Data Systems (EDS) headquarters, a 91-acre site that serves as the TRQ main campus. Plano is located approximately 20 miles north of Dallas. The development agreement provides reimbursement to incentivize investment and development within a newly created tax-increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ), which contains the TRQ properties and other parts of Plano’s Legacy neighborhood. Total project costs are estimated at $4 billion, according to the Dallas Business Journal. Future phases include additional redevelopment activity across the main campus, as well as the creation of an integrated multi-site district through development at adjacent and nearby properties. Dallas-based NexPoint, an alternative investment manager with a real estate arm, is spearheading the development. “The city council approval is just the first step in a comprehensive plan to develop the TRQ into a world-class hub for life sciences,” says Eric Danielson, managing director and head of real estate development at NexPoint. “We are committed to collaborating with the community to build a dynamic ecosystem that will drive innovation, …
EXTON, PA. — Locally based pharmaceutical development company Frontage Laboratories has inked a 46,300-square-foot life sciences lease expansion in Exton, a western suburb of Philadelphia. Frontage Labs joins Switzerland-based Fruh Packaging to bring occupancy of the new, 113,000-square-foot building at 240 Sierra Drive to 100 percent. Frontage’s total footprint in Exton now spans about 200,000 square feet, and the expansion is expected to create about 100 new employment opportunities. No third-party brokers were involved in the lease negotiations.
BOSTON — Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. has renewed its lease for approximately 1.1 million square feet of office and life sciences space at 50 Northern Avenue and 11 Fan Pier Boulevard in Boston. According to Loopnet Inc., both buildings were constructed in 2013 and total 587,374 and 543,098 square feet, respectively. Vertex’s existing lease, which expires in December 2028, was extended for approximately 15 years through June 2044. A joint venture that includes locally based REIT Diversified Healthcare Trust (NASDAQ: DHC) owns both buildings. The RMR Group provides property and asset management services for the joint venture.
NATICK, MASS. — Design-build firm Dacon Corp. has completed a 7,400-square-foot industrial and life sciences expansion project in Natick, a western suburb of Boston. The project is a build-to-suit for Kula Bio, which specializes in the production of agricultural products that serve as replacements to synthetic fertilizers. The facility includes manufacturing, office and research-and-development space. Kula Bio initially opened its 7,500-square-foot headquarters in Natick in late 2021 with the expectation of expanding.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — IAVI has signed a 29,782-square-foot life sciences lease in Jersey City. The nonprofit scientific research organization will relocate its vaccine design and development operations from the Brooklyn Army Terminal to the 350,000-square-foot building at 95 Greene St., which was originally built as a manufacturing facility for Colgate Palmolive. John Isaacs, Joseph DeRosa and Conor Dolan led the CBRE team that represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. RegenLab USA did the same relocation earlier this year.