Western

Pharmaceutical companies have captured the interest of many developers and with good reason. Softening demand for traditional office space has planners looking for alternative uses to fill out business parks and multiuse developments, and drug makers represent a promising source of highly valuable occupancy. Speculative construction that accelerated during the pandemic has given pharmaceutical manufacturers plenty of options and enabled them to be choosy in site selection. However, to compete for end users, developers must ensure their properties offer the features and amenities drug makers seek, says Matt Mrva, northeast director of planning and landscape architecture at Bohler, a land development consulting and site design firm. “Simply adding a life sciences label on conventional flex space is unlikely to lure pharma companies. Research, lab and pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities often require specialized infrastructure and site layouts,” Mrva says. “Even if a property is zoned to allow for life sciences, design and development teams need to understand the proposed operations in order to optimize the facility.” Unique Facility Requirements Depending on anticipated needs, tenants may require advanced climate control and ventilation, redundant electrical feeds, high-volume water and sewer service, on-site wastewater pretreatment, backup power generation, reinforced floors to handle the weight of …