WALTHAM, MASS. — Dallas-based Lincoln Property Co. has broken ground on a 139,000-square-foot life sciences project that will be located at 300 Third Ave. in the western Boston suburb of Waltham. Designed by local architecture firm DiMella Shaffer, the building will offer traditional office and lab space, as well as five levels of parking. Callahan Construction Managers is the general contractor for the project, which is expected to be complete in January 2022.
PHILADELPHIA — A partnership between developers Silverstein Properties and University Place Associates, as well as financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald LP, will develop a 250,000-square-foot life sciences facility in Philadelphia. The property will be named 3.0 University Place in reference to its location within the University City area, a hotbed of life sciences growth. The Steward Partnership is designing the eight-story lab and office building, which is expected to come on line in the fourth quarter of 2022. According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, the project has a price tag of $56 million.
MORRISVILLE, N.C. — JLL has arranged a $52.8 million loan for the acquisition and conversion of Perimeter’s Edge, a four-building, 341,547-square-foot property in Morrisville. The buyer and borrower, Longfellow Real Estate Partners, will convert the asset into a life sciences lab. MetLife Investment Management provided the five-year, floating-rate loan. Perimeter’s Edge is situated within Research Triangle Park at 2450 and 2600 Perimeter Park Drive, 507 Airport Blvd. and 515 McCrimmon Parkway. A timeline for construction was not disclosed. Greg LaBine, Roger Edwards and Martha Nay of JLL arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower. Brigitte Burkett of MetLife originated the loan.
SAN DIEGO AND BOSTON — Life sciences real estate development firm IQHQ Inc. has completed a $1.7 billion equity raise. The company — which completed an initial equity raise of $770 million earlier this year — plans to use the combined funds to build 4.4 million square feet of projects that are currently in its development pipeline. The company has offices in San Diego and Boston, both hubs for life sciences companies. The demand for life sciences real estate continues to increase as the need for vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics intensifies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an October report by CBRE. Plymouth Meeting, Pa.-based CenterSquare Investment Management invested $158 million in IQHQ’s latest funding round, alongside a group of undisclosed new and existing strategic partners. Madison International Realty, a real estate private equity firm, invested $100 million with an option to invest an incremental $100 million in IQHQ. IQHQ’s current projects include sites in Boston, San Francisco and San Diego. The company announced plans to develop the San Diego Research and Development District (RaDD), a $1.5 billion life science campus located along San Diego’s waterfront, in September. The RaDD will span eight acres and three city blocks, making it …
BOSTON — Newmark has brokered the sale of One Alewife Center, a 90,000-square-foot life sciences facility located adjacent to the MBTA Alewife station on the city’s north side. The facility is situated within the 290,000-square-foot Alewife Park office and life sciences campus. Robert Griffin, Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen and Samantha Hallowell of Newmark represented the seller, James Campbell Co., in the transaction. The team also procured life sciences REIT IQHQ as the buyer. IQHQ also purchased the larger Alewife Park campus in July.
CONROE, TEXAS — VGXI Inc., a biotechnology firm that supports the gene therapy and DNA vaccine industries, will open a new life sciences and headquarters facility in Conroe, about 40 miles north of Houston. Local media outlets, including Community Impact Newspaper and the Houston Business Journal, report that the facility will span 240,000 square feet. The company’s new space will be located within Deison Technology Park and will allow VGXI to quintuple its current production capacity. BE&K Building Group is handling the design and build of the project. Construction is underway, and the facility is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2022.
WALTHAM, MASS. — Translate Bio, an RNA therapeutics company, has signed a 10-year, 138,000-square-foot life sciences lease at 200 West St. in the western Boston suburb of Waltham. Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP) is currently redeveloping the site into a lab property that is slated for completion in 2021 and that is now 100 percent preleased. Building amenities will include a full-service café, fitness center and conferencing facilities. According to the Boston Business Journal, Translate Bio is working with the vaccine unit of pharmaceutical giant Sanofi to use messenger RNA to synthesize antibodies that can fight COVID-19.
BOSTON — Locally based biotechnology firm Ginkgo Bioworks has signed a 38,759-square-foot life sciences lease at 10 Wilson Road in the Cambridge area of Boston. The new space is located within The Quad, a four-building, 510,000-square-foot campus that is being developed in phases by The Davis Companies. McKenna Teague and Erick Smith of CBRE represented the developer in the lease negotiations. Anne Columbia and Patrick Downey of Columbia Group Realty Advisors Inc. represented the tenant.
BOSTON — Locally based developer King Street Properties has broken ground on 101 Cambridgepark, a $170 million life sciences project located in the Cambridge area of Boston. King Street is partnering with California-based Healthpeak Properties on the 160,000-square-foot project, which will feature both traditional office and laboratory space within a five-story building. The property will also include 3,000 square feet of street-level retail space with outdoor seating. Completion is slated for the third quarter of 2022. Newmark is leasing the project.
WALTHAM, MASS. — General contractor Gilbane Building Co. has topped out 225 Wyman Street, a 500,000-square-foot life sciences project in the western Boston suburb of Waltham. Designed by Gensler, the property will offer space for both laboratory/research and development users as well as traditional office users. Amenities will include green space with walking trails, a three-acre courtyard, fitness center, conference center, dining facility and a 1,500-space covered parking garage with electric vehicle charging stations. Hobbs Brook Management LLC is the developer of the project, which is expected to be complete in March 2022.
