MILLBRAE, CALIF. — JLL Capital Markets has arranged a $310 million construction loan for the development of Avia Labs at Millbrae Station. Located in Millbrae, southwest of San Francisco International Airport, the life sciences development will total 315,000 square feet.
Jordan Angel, Lillian Roos and Pat Aslanian of JLL Capital Markets’ debt advisory team secured the loan through Otera Capital for the borrower, Longfellow Real Estate Partners.
Longfellow broke ground on Avia Labs on March 1. The six-story, Class A building is targeting LEED Gold and Fitwel certifications and emphasizes both energy efficiency and quality of life for tenants. Onsite amenities will include a fitness center, public café open to the community, large conference spaces, bike storage, two levels of underground parking and a large terrace with city and mountain views.
According to the developer, this will be California’s first all-electric life sciences project. All-electric buildings often have reduced construction costs, are easier to maintain and offer a lower carbon footprint than developments that offer multiple energy sources, such as both electric and natural gas.
The property is positioned on 2.1 acres at 210 Adrian Road in the North County submarket of the Mid-Peninsula of the San Francisco Bay Area. Avia Labs will be located directly adjacent to the Millbrae BART and CalTrain stations.
“Millbrae is the only transit station in the greater Bay Area where both BART and CalTrain come together in one station, providing an incredible opportunity for tenants to have public transit options to the East Bay, San Francisco, the Peninsula and Greater Silicon Valley, while being in the epicenter of one of the top life sciences markets in the world,” says Angel.
According to JLL’s 2022 Life Sciences Lab Real Estate Outlook, the San Francisco Bay Area ranked second only to Boston in its life sciences clusters matrix, which weighs opportunities for talent, funding and commercial real estate data to determine best markets for investment.
— Amy Works and Kari Lloyd