PHILADELPHIA — Republic Properties Corp., a privately owned real estate investment and management firm, plans to build Ultra Labs at University City, a $190 million life sciences facility in Philadelphia. The property will stand 11 stories tall and comprise 185,000 square feet of advanced research and development space for cell and gene therapy users. Republic Properties entered into a 90-year ground lease last year with Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) at the site, which is located adjacent to SEPTA’s Powelton Rail Yard station along North 32nd Street. Additionally, Ultra Labs at University City will sit within an Opportunity Zone between Powelton and Market streets overlooking the Schuylkill Expressway. The site is within close proximity to life science clusters including The Wistar Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The production center will be designed to ensure compliance with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) standards for pharmaceutical and cell production facilities, according to Republic Properties. The Washington, D.C.-based developer has tapped Maryland-based brokerage firm Scheer Partners to lease the property, which is slated for completion in less than 36 months. Republic Properties’ investment partner on the project is an entity …
Life Sciences
The Raleigh-Durham commercial real estate market continues to be one of growth and perseverance despite the global pandemic. Its economy is rich with an array of industries, healthcare and university systems that support population growth and expansion. Commercial real estate is experiencing its own challenges and opportunities through this pandemic, including one of the most talked about asset classes, office. The sector is the subject of the big “pause” discussion as there’s uncertainty going forward. Despite the lack of commitment to many significant leases, the office market’s fundamentals have remained stable in Raleigh-Durham. Rates are holding steady with an average Class A rental rate of $29.59 per square foot. Vacancy and absorption are maintaining competitive levels, allowing market rates to hold somewhat steady. Over the last year, activity reflected these trends as many landlords negotiated short-term renewals without rate increases. If the leasing trend continues this year, renewals and space consolidation will possibly lead to a reduction in rental rates. One of the key driving forces of office product in Raleigh-Durham stems from the life sciences industry. The market is currently ranked No. 5 among life sciences markets in the United States, according to CBRE’s annual report. The life sciences …
BOSTON — Newmark has arranged the $1.5 billion recapitalization of 401 Park Drive and 201 Brookline Ave. in Boston’s Fenway submarket. The 1.5 million-square-foot campus sits on nearly nine acres. Concurrent with the financing transaction, Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. acquired a majority stake in the campus. The seller is a joint venture between institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Global Alternatives and Samuels & Associates. Boston-based Samuels will retain a minority interest in the campus and continue to operate, lease and lead development activities for the property in conjunction with the new majority owner. The asset at 401 Park Drive is an existing 973,145-square-foot office and retail tower. It is currently 93 percent occupied. The second property, 201 Brookline Ave., is a 510,116-square-foot laboratory and office tower that is currently under construction. It is 17 percent pre-leased with tenants expected to take occupancy in 2022. There is also potential for an additional phase of commercial development at the site. Located next to an MBTA Green Line station, the campus incorporates a recently created 1.1-acre park that provides direct access to new retailers Time Out Market and Trillium Brewing Co. The park also features an ice-skating rink in the winter. …
BOSTON — DivcoWest has topped off a 480,000-square-foot life sciences building at 250 Water St. within Cambridge Crossing, a 43-acre mixed-use development that is located at the intersection of the cities of Boston, Cambridge and Somerville. Global biopharmaceutical firm Bristol Myers Squibb has preleased 360,000 square feet at the building, which is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2022. Other life sciences users at Cambridge Crossing include Sanofi and Cerevel Therapeutics.
WATERTOWN, MASS. — Boston-based Berkeley Investments has purchased the historic Chase Mills building in the western Boston suburb of Watertown with plans to modernize the property’s utility systems and add life sciences space. Over the years, the 97,000-square-foot building, which is located at 64 Pleasant St. and currently houses the headquarters of architecture firm Sasaki, has also served as a paper factory and garment manufacturing plant. Sasaki sold the building, which it has owned and occupied since the 1950s, to Berkeley Investments for an undisclosed price.
BOSTON — A joint venture between affiliates of Magellan Development Group, RAS Development, Cypress Equity Investments and USAA Real Estate will develop a 194,000-square-foot life sciences facility and a 450-unit apartment building in the Somerville area of Boston. The development represents the first phase of the master plan for the revitalization of Union Square, a project that will ultimately span 2.4 million square feet of commercial and residential space. The project also includes the addition of an MBTA Green Line station. Daniel Kaufman, Frederic Wittmann and Brett Paulsrud of JLL arranged construction financing through Bank OZK for both the life sciences and the multifamily components of the project.
WATERTOWN, MASS. — Boston Development Group (BDG) has received approval from the Watertown Zoning Board of Appeals to move forward with construction of a new life sciences project in the western Boston suburb. Elkus Manfredi Architects is designing the project, which will be built in two phases and will include traditional office, lab and research and development uses. Construction of Phase I, which will feature 200,000 square feet of office and lab space and open green space, is scheduled to begin during the first quarter.
Colliers Negotiates Life Sciences Lease for Gene Therapy Firm in Philadelphia’s University City Area
PHILADELPHIA — Colliers International has negotiated a life sciences lease at 3675 Market St. in Philadelphia’s University City neighborhood. Joseph Fetterman and Clifford Brechner of Colliers represented the tenant, gene therapy firm Spirovant Sciences, which will use the space for its expanded headquarters and lab operations, in the lease negotiations. A partnership between Ventas and Wexford Science + Technologies developed the 14-story, 340,000-square-foot building, which houses lab and traditional office space and is located near a variety of retail and restaurant options.
CHICAGO — Talis Biomedical Corp. is the latest company to join the tenant lineup at Trammell Crow Co.’s Fulton Labs development in Chicago. Talis will occupy 26,432 square feet of advanced lab, office and chemical storage space. Other tenants at the property include Xeris Pharmaceuticals and Portal Innovations. Fulton Labs totals 725,000 square feet across two buildings, the second of which is slated for completion in early 2022. The first building is immediately available for occupancy. David Saad and Chad Freese of CBRE represented Talis in the lease transaction.
Trinity Capital Signs Cancer Research Firm to 70,369 SF Life Sciences Lease in Durham
by John Nelson
DURHAM, N.C. — Trinity Capital Advisors has signed cancer research firm Charles River Laboratories Inc. to a 70,639-square-foot lease for life sciences space within Park Point, an adaptive reuse research and development campus in Durham’s Research Triangle Park. The tenant’s North Carolina Oncology Center of Excellence operation will occupy the space at the park’s Edge West Building. In 2019, Trinity Capital acquired Park Point, a 100-acre office campus situated near Duke University. The ownership is investing $160 million to redevelop the property into a 655,800-square-foot life sciences campus. GRAIL Inc., an early cancer detection firm, will anchor Park Point when it moves into its 200,000-square-foot space in March. Park Point’s amenities will include athletic fields, walking trails, a fitness center, conference and training center, gathering areas and a coffee shop/café. Bill Sandridge, Brendan Callahan and Caitlyn Kinnaird of JLL represented Charles River Laboratories in the lease transaction. Doug Cook of Cushman & Wakefield and William Allen of Trinity Partners handle life sciences and creative office leasing at Park Point, respectively. Trinity Capital is part of Park Point’s ownership group with Starwood Capital Group and Vanderbilt Partners.