SAN FRANCISCO — A fund sponsored by CBRE Investment Management, formerly known as CBRE Global Investors, has acquired a majority stake in two life sciences portfolios in the Mission Bay submarket of San Francisco. The fund made the investment, which includes a total of 1 million square feet of Class A life sciences space, through a joint venture with a life science property developer/operator that developed the portfolios. The first portfolio, located at 409/499 Illinois St. and 1500 Owens St., includes three purpose-built life sciences facilities totaling 644,788 square feet. Situated on a 4.8-acre waterfront, the buildings feature 15-foot clear heights, an outdoor plaza with public art, two on-site restaurants, a rooftop deck, fitness center and an outdoor garden. The properties are LEED Gold and Silver certified. The second portfolio, located at 455 Mission Bay Blvd. South, 1450 Owens St. and 1700 Owens St., includes two existing buildings, which total 375,604 square feet, and a 212,796-square-fot purpose-built life sciences development that is scheduled for construction to start in first-quarter 2022. The properties are LEED Gold certified.
Life Sciences
PHILADELPHIA — Spark Therapeutics, a locally based firm that devises and delivers gene therapy solutions, will open a 500,000-square-foot life sciences facility in Philadelphia’s University City neighborhood, a project that represents a $575 million capital investment. The facility will be part of a 1 million-square-foot campus at the intersection of 30th and Chestnut streets. Spark Therapeutics has entered into a 99-year ground lease with Drexel University to develop the project. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2022.
City Center Realty Acquires Office Complex for Life Science Conversion in Berkeley’s Innovation District
by Amy Works
BERKELEY, CALIF. — San Francisco-based City Center Realty Partners (CCRP), in joint venture with Contrarian Capital Management, has purchased Parker Innovation Hub, a three-building office/R&D/life sciences complex in Berkeley. The buildings, located at 2067 7th St, 918 Parker St. and 2612 8th St., comprise 40,580 square feet of office space. Scott Prosser, Mark Kol, Mike Raffetto and Jack DePuy of CBRE represented the undisclosed seller and buyer in the deal. CCRP plans to convert the office property into life sciences space. Huue, a venture-backed biotechnology company that creates environmentally sustainable dyes, recently leased space at the property.
DURHAM, N.C. — New York-based Oxford Properties Group has acquired Research Commons, a life sciences campus within Research Triangle Park in Durham, as well as an adjacent parcel located at 78 TW Alexander Drive for a total of $158.6 million. By combining the two sites and building three new life sciences facilities totaling 510,000 square feet, Oxford plans to ultimately develop a 940,000-square-foot innovation campus that will house various life sciences firms. The construction timeline was not disclosed. Located at 79 TW Alexander Drive, Research Commons is a 430,000-square-foot, five-building campus with an additional 18 plus acres of developable land. The existing campus is well-leased to a diverse tenant roster across life sciences industries, and is anchored by Grifols, a Los Angeles-based global pharmaceutical manufacturer. At this site, Oxford plans to use the more than 18 acres of vacant land for the development of two dedicated life sciences buildings. Additionally, the firm plans to convert two existing buildings wholly to life sciences tenants as vacancies materialize. For 78 TW Alexander Drive, Oxford plans to build a 95,500-square-foot Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) facility to be developed on the 14.5-acre parcel of land adjacent to Research Commons.
ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. — BioReference Laboratories, an operator focused on the genetics, women’s health, oncology and urology fields, has signed a 160,000-square-foot life sciences lease renewal in the Northern New Jersey community of Elmwood Park. The tenant now operates three full-building labs totaling 209,904 square feet at 481, 487 and 491 Edward H. Ross Drive. Chris Olsen of Eagle Real Estate Group represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Stephen Jennings represented the landlord, New Jersey-based Alfred Sanzari Enterprises, on an internal basis.
PHILADELPHIA — Gattuso Development Partners has broken ground on a 130,000-square-foot flex project at The Philadelphia Navy Yard that will be marketed to industrial and life sciences users. Designed by SITIO Architects, the property will feature a clear height of 30 feet, 14 loading bays and 360 parking spaces. Completion is slated for the fourth quarter. Citizens Bank provided construction financing for the project, with Boston-based The Baupost Group contributing joint venture equity. Ryan Ade and Brett Segal arranged and structured the debt and equity financing.
MRA Group Acquires Life Sciences Campus in Wilmington, Delaware, Begins $500M Redevelopment
by Katie Sloan
WILMINGTON, DEL. — MRA Group has acquired Chestnut Run Lab Campus, a 163-acre life sciences and manufacturing campus in Wilmington, from industrial engineering firm DuPont for an undisclosed price. MRA Group is underway on a $500 million redevelopment of the property, which is being rebranded the Chestnut Run Innovation & Science Park (CRISP). Located at 984 Centre Road, the development is currently home to 780,000 square feet of lab, research and advanced manufacturing space. Redevelopment plans for the campus include the addition of a hotel, fitness center, conference space, an outdoor amphitheater and restaurant space. The first renovated building is set to be delivered in late summer 2022. DuPont will continue to lease 190,000 square feet located across two buildings at the property. “We are excited to be back in Delaware with such an incredible opportunity,” says Lawrence Stuardi, founder and CEO of MRA Group. “Our vision for CRISP will set a new standard for innovative campus redevelopment in the region, as we believe it will become Delaware’s leading biotechnology and science hub.” Delaware has the fourth-highest concentration of science, engineering and health employees with doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in the nation, according to MRA. The CRISP campus marks …
HOPEWELL, N.J. — BeiGene, a global biotech firm that develops cancer medicines, will open a 400,000-square-foot life sciences facility in Hopewell, a suburb of Trenton. The manufacturing and research facility will be situated on a 42-acre site within the Princeton West Innovation Campus that was previously owned by pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb. Lincoln Equities Group owns Princeton West Innovation Campus. Construction is expected to begin in 2022 and to be complete in late 2023 or early 2024.
SKOKIE, ILL. — JLL Capital Markets has brokered the sale of 4901 Searle Parkway, a 228,362-square-foot life sciences building in Skokie. The sales price was undisclosed. Located within the Illinois Science + Technology Park, the property originally served as the headquarters of pharmaceutical giant G.D. Searle. Today, the building is leased to NorthShore University HealthSystem. Sam DiFrancesca, Patrick Shields, Jaime Fink, Jeffrey Bramson, Bruce Miller and Brian Shanfeld of JLL represented the seller, American Landmark Properties. TopMed Realty, a private equity firm focused on healthcare real estate, was the buyer.
FRAMINGHAM, MASS. — Newmark has brokered the sale of 9/90 Corporate Center, a 400,000-square-foot office and laboratory campus located in the western Boston suburb of Framingham. The three-building property was roughly 80 percent leased to 12 tenants at the time of sale. Robert Griffin, Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen, Samantha Hallowell and William Sleeper of Newmark represented the undisclosed seller and procured the buyer, a partnership between Outshine Properties and Jadian Capital, in the transaction.