PHILADELPHIA — Iovance Biotherapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: IOVA) has opened a 136,000-square-foot life sciences facility at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where the biomanufacturing firm will produce T cell-based immunotherapies for cancer patients. Gattuso Development Partners developed the facility, which is located within an opportunity zone, and CRB provided design and construction services.
HOUSTON — A partnership between Chicago-based investment firm Harrison Street, 2ML Real Estate Interests and local developer Hines has broken ground on a 270,000-square-foot life sciences building in Houston. The building, which represents the first phase of the Levit Green mixed-use development, is located on a 53-acre site adjacent to Texas Medical Center. Additional uses at Levit Green will include retail, residential and office space. DE Harvey Builders is the general contractor for the project, which is slated for a fourth-quarter 2022 delivery. JLL is marketing the space for lease.
WATERTOWN, MASS. — Locally based developer Berkeley Investments will undertake a project to convert a building at 64 Pleasant St. in the western Boston suburb of Watertown into a 105,000-square-foot life sciences facility. The two-story building offers a conference room, rooftop deck, fitness center and outdoor gathering spaces. Berkeley will upgrade the property’s utility and mechanical systems, elevate the ceiling heights, introduce reinforced concrete floors and add lab space. SGA is the project architect. The development team hopes to complete core and shell construction by the end of next year. Newmark has been tapped to market the building for lease.
TAMPA, FLA. — Atlanta-based Cousins Properties has acquired Heights Union, a 294,000-square-foot office property in downtown Tampa, for $144.8 million. Atlanta-based TPA Group and Heights master developer SoHo Capital were the sellers, according to the Tampa Business Journal. Built in 2020, Heights Union features two six-story buildings with parking provided. The office property is currently 93.4 percent leased with life sciences users representing 66 percent of the rent roll. Pfizer leases 106,000 square feet for a Global Capability Hub, and Axogen leases 75,000 square feet for its second headquarters and lab space. Additionally, White & Case leases 40,000 square feet for a mission critical global operations center. The office property is located within The Heights neighborhood, which is a live-work-play district located near the 2.6-mile Tampa Riverwalk that runs alongside the Hillsborough River. The district is also anchored by Armature Works, an adaptive reuse project of the former Tampa streetcar facility that includes 73,000 square feet of mixed-use space and over 20 restaurants and bars.
SEATTLE — LPC West and Invesco Real Estate have acquired Cascadian, a nine-story office building located in Seattle’s life sciences corridor. Located at the intersection of South Lake Union, Capitol Hill and the central business district, Cascadian features 211,000 rentable square feet and potential ground-floor retail. The buyers plan to convert the property into a life sciences space. The redeveloped property will also feature a 7,300-square-foot rooftop terrace, on-site parking and transit accessibility. Terms of the acquisition were not released.
MUNSTER, IND. — CA Health and Science Trust Inc. (CAHST), a newly formed private REIT focused on the acquisition and development of medical office and life sciences facilities, has acquired a three-building medical office complex in Munster for an undisclosed price. Munster is located about 30 miles southeast of the Chicago Loop. The buildings total more than 113,200 square feet and are home to ambulatory surgery centers. The sale also includes adjacent land parcels for the potential development of up to 50,000 square feet of additional medical office space. The acquisition is part of an equity commitment of up to $245 million from partners Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP, Monarch Alternative Capital LP and CA Ventures. Mike Wilson, Erik Foster and Jim Kornick of Avison Young represented the seller, LBC Owner LLC.
CHICAGO — Sterling Bay, Harrison Street and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives have secured a $125 million construction loan for ALLY, a life sciences project in Chicago. Bank OZK provided the financing. Construction is slated to begin this month. Located at 1229 W Concord Place, ALLY will feature 280,000 square feet of Class A medical research lab and creative office space. The life sciences project will be in Lincoln Yards, a 53-acre, mixed-use development created by Sterling Bay. Lincoln Yards was formerly an industrial site that is being redeveloped into a mixed-use community with build-to-suit office developments, retail opportunities, proposed 606 bike trail extension and future residential and hospitality opportunities. When complete, Lincoln Yards will feature affordable housing, create over 23,000 permanent onsite jobs and generate $4.1 billion in economic output for the city of Chicago. ALLY at 1229 W Concord Place is located off the North Branch Chicago River and has private outdoor space on every floor. Mark Burkemper, senior managing director and head of North American transactions at Harrison Street, says the project brings many benefits. “Lincoln Yards is close to several of Chicago’s most notable medical research institutions, and we are excited to expand …
BOSTON — JLL has brokered the $74.6 million sale of a 102,727-square-foot office building in Boston’s Seaport District that will soon be converted to a life sciences facility. The nine-story building at 51 Melcher St. was originally constructed in 1916 as a concrete masonry warehouse and renovated in 2013. Coleman Benedict, Scott Carpenter and Mike Shepard of JLL represented the seller, Zurich Alternative Asset Management, and procured the buyer in the transaction. JLL has also been retained to lease the property on behalf of the new ownership.
By Alexandra Loye, Senior Vice President, Healthcare & Life Sciences Services, Colliers Despite global and domestic market challenges from the pandemic, Phoenix continues to shine amongst its competitive Western cities. With Maricopa County being the fastest-growing county in the U.S., Phoenix offers employers a diverse, educated workforce, business-friendly environment and affordable housing options. Arizona’s economy is booming and experiencing record revenue growth, as well as personal income growth. From 2019 to 2020, Arizona led the nation (tied with Montana) in the category of highest personal income growth with a 7.1 percent increase. The state is also projected to add 325,000 jobs in the next 12 months. Phoenix’s life sciences industry has gained significant momentum during the past 12 months, with no slowdown in sight. The Phoenix Biomedical Campus (PBC) in downtown Phoenix is ground zero for life sciences development and tenant activity. The 30-acre campus is currently occupied by Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University, Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), OncoMyx Therapeutics, Calviri, Vidium Animal Health, and Exact Sciences, which recently acquired Paradigm Diagnostics and Ashion Analytics. The PBC is the ideal environment when it comes to collaboration and innovation for life sciences tenants. The 227,000-square-foot, …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — JLL Capital Markets has arranged the sale of a portfolio of eight infill neighborhood retail assets totaling 695,991 square feet in Washington, D.C., northern Virginia and southern Maryland. Stephen Conley, Danny Finkle, Jordan Lex and Kim Flores of JLL represented the D.C.-based seller, WashREIT (NYSE: WRE), which sold the portfolio for $168.3 million. The buyers were Rosenthal Properties and an undisclosed institutional partner, according to the Washington Business Journal. The news outlet also reports the seller had acquired the eight properties over the span of five decades. The portfolio includes two properties in Washington, D.C., two in Northern Virginia and four in Maryland. The properties in D.C. include Chevy Chase Metro Center and Spring Valley Village. The Virginia properties are 800 S. Washington St. in Alexandria and Concord Centre in Springfield. The southern Maryland properties are Montrose Shopping Center and Randolph Shopping Center in Rockdale; Takoma Park Shopping Center in Takoma; and Westminster Shopping Center in Westminster. The properties are 82 percent leased collectively. Four of the shopping centers are grocery-anchored by stores such as Mom’s Organic Market at Montrose Shopping Center and Aldi at Springfield’s Concord Centre. Other grocery anchors include Food Lion and Giant. The …