Life Sciences

SEATTLE — The RMR Group Inc. (NASDAQ: RMR) has begun the redevelopment of 351, 401 and 501 Elliott Avenue West in Seattle into a project dubbed Unison Elliott Bay. The existing three office buildings will be transformed into Class A office and life sciences space totaling more than 300,000 square feet. Amenities will include an outdoor lounge, conference and training rooms, fitness facility, new lab mechanical infrastructure and two backup generators for labs. Tenants will also have access to covered and surface parking, bike storage and electric vehicle charging stations. Customizable floor plates will range from 21,000 to 27,500 square feet. The buildings are located near the new Climate Pledge Arena, home of the Seattle Kraken National Hockey League team, as well as 15 acres of trails, beaches and open space. Tenants will also have access to onsite food options in addition to the dining and retail amenities of Seattle’s Lower Queen Anne neighborhood. “Unison’s customizable floor plates, distinctive spaces and common areas that prioritize wellness, with views of the natural beauty of the Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains, will be in demand from an array of tenants,” says Chris Bilotto, senior vice president of RMR. “We anticipate delivery in …

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Taystee-Lab-Building-Harlem

NEW YORK CITY — Locally based developer Janus Property Co., in partnership with J.P. Morgan Asset Management, has completed the Taystee Lab Building, a $700 million life sciences project in Harlem. The 11-story, 350,000-square-foot building anchors the Manhattanville Factory District, Janus Property’s 1 million-square-foot life sciences campus that stretches from West 125th to West 128th streets. The property, which is a redevelopment of the former Taystee bread bakery, features traditional office, lab, manufacturing and retail space, as well as 20,000 square feet of outdoor amenity space. Construction began in May 2019.

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BURLINGTON, MASS. — GI Partners, an investment firm with four offices across the country, has acquired a 164,000-square-foot life sciences building in Burlington, a northern suburb of Boston. in GI Partners acquired the asset as part of a life sciences portfolio sale that included a 103,000-square-foot building in Boston’s Seaport District, as well as a 152,000-square-foot building near Raleigh, N.C. The seller and sales price were not disclosed. The new ownership plans to implement a value-add plan.

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The-Curtis-Philadelphia

By: Jamie Rash, Regional Director, Keystone Development + Investment Talk about a spark. When Spark Therapeutics announced plans at the end of last year to develop a $575 million gene therapy manufacturing plant in Philadelphia, it ignited the city’s evolution into a destination for the largest, most innovative life sciences firms in the world. Over $1 billion in venture capital (VC) investment is pouring into more than 50 Philadelphia life sciences companies that employ some 20,000 people, generating unprecedented demand for lab space. Supply is limited — even with 1 million square feet of lab space in development — and this supply shortage is driving some developers to capitalize on the demand by converting existing building stock. Moving Beyond Meds & Eds Philadelphia is a long-reputed “meds and eds” city, meaning it’s home to anchor institutions of higher learning and world-leading medical facilities that are known for innovation and opportunity. These institutions are major drivers of economic growth throughout the city. Previously, much of the activity in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology occurred in labs in suburban office parks and sprawling corporate campuses. In 2017, the city celebrated two cutting-edge, FDA-approved gene and cell therapies to treat specific types of cancer and …

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BOSTON — GI Partners, an investment firm with four offices across the country, has acquired a 103,000-square-foot life sciences building located at 51 Melcher St. in Boston’s Seaport District. The nine-story building was originally constructed in 1915 and renovated in 2013. GI Partners acquired the asset as part of a life sciences portfolio sale that included a 164,000-square-foot building in nearby Burlington, as well as a 152,000-square-foot building near Raleigh, N.C. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.

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BURLINGTON, MASS. — SVN | Parsons Commercial Group | Boston has arranged the $8.8 million sale of a 40,000-square-foot office/flex building in Burlington, a northern suburb of Boston. The building sits on three acres just off Route 128 and across from the Burlington Mall. Marci Alvarado of SVN represented the seller, a partnership between two limited liability companies, in the transaction. Dean Blackey and Elizabeth Holmes of RW Holmes represented the buyer, ACCO Properties LLC.

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San Diego

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. — Oxford Properties Group has acquired a nine-property, 13-building life sciences portfolio in San Diego. Oxford acquired the portfolio for $464 million. The seller was San Diego-based BioMed Realty, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. The portfolio includes 650,000 square feet of space, with 12 of the 13 buildings centrally located within San Diego’s Sorrento Valley and Sorrento Mesa submarkets. The properties are 98 percent leased. The portfolio features mainly one- to two-story buildings and a 60/40 life sciences-to-office ratio. The buildings’ features include modern mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems and ample tenant parking. According to Oxford Properties, Sorrento Valley and Sorrento Mesa have emerged as epicenters of life sciences growth within San Diego. The firm reports that San Diego recorded over 4 million square feet of leasing volume in 2021, which is an all-time high and 80 percent higher than in 2020. Because of record high demand and limited vacancy, asking rents in San Diego’s life sciences market have increased by 34 percent. The life sciences market in the area is anchored by research institutions and non-profits including San Diego State University, UC San Diego, Scripps Research and the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. …

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SAN ANTONIO — Welcome Group, a Houston-based investment firm, has purchased two office and lab buildings in San Antonio totaling 124,291 square feet. The first building spans 80,431 square feet, sits on an 11.9-acre site and is leased by KCI USA Inc., a provider of wound care services and treatments. The second facility totals 43,860 square feet and was built in phases between 1987 and 1995. Frost Bank provided an undisclosed amount of financing for both acquisitions. Ryan Wassaff of Welcome Realty Advisors, along with internal agents Cole Bercher and John Wilson, represented Welcome Group in the deals. John Taylor of JLL and Luis Garza of Transwestern respectively represented the sellers of the first and second buildings.

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BOSTON — Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. has unveiled plans for a $700 million institute for genetic medicine in Boston’s Seaport District. The opening is slated for 2024. The company has signed a 334,000-square-foot lease at 15 Necco St., a 12-story healthcare and life sciences building that Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE: ARE) is developing. At the facility, Lilly will develop genetic medicines with a range of applications, including diabetes, immunology and central nervous system research. Curtis Cole, John Carroll III, Evan Gallagher, Tim Allen and Caitlin Mahoney of Colliers represented Eli Lilly in the deal. The site will also include a shared space modeled after Lilly Gateway Labs in San Francisco to support biotech startups in the Boston area. This area will afford users access to dedicated and configurable lab and office space and opportunities for collaboration with Lilly scientists. These companies are expected to generate as many as 150 additional new jobs once the space is fully occupied. The investment follows Lilly’s 2020 Prevail Therapeutics initiative, which centered on the launch of a gene therapy facility in New York City. Lilly projects that within five years, employment at the Boston facility will grow from 120 to …

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Yield

HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. — A joint venture between Crescent Communities and Nuveen Real Estate has acquired a 120-acre development site to expand The Yield, a $500 million life sciences development currently underway in Holly Springs, roughly 23 miles south of North Carolina’s Research Triangle. Crescent Communities broke ground on the project’s first phase of development in December 2021, which will include two 105,000-square-foot biomanufacturing buildings, 52,000 square feet of lab and office space and retail. Phase I is scheduled for delivery this summer.  Crescent and Nuveen are set to break ground on the second phase of development later this year, which will expand the development through the addition of 2 million square feet of lab, office and manufacturing space. Further details on Phase II of the project were undisclosed. The Research Triangle remains a top life sciences market in the U.S., with recently announced projects including the development of a $1 billion life sciences campus in Morrisville; the acquisition and expansion of Research Commons, a life sciences campus within Research Triangle Park in Durham; and the redevelopment of a 110,500-square-foot life sciences property in Raleigh. John Brewer, Brian Carr and Ann-Stewart Patterson of CBRE are in charge of leasing for …

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