ATLANTA — Trammell Crow Co. (TCC) and its residential subsidiary High Street Residential (HSR), along with Georgia Advanced Technology Ventures (GATV), have closed on ground leases and are ready to begin construction on the first phase of a life sciences and multifamily development adjacent to Atlanta’s Georgia Institute of Technology campus. Formerly known as Technology Enterprise Park, the site is now named Science Square.
The first phase will include TCC’s Science Square Labs, a 364,740-square-foot speculative lab and office tower. The lab project is the only ground-up commercial lab space under construction in the Atlanta market, according to TCC. Phase I will also include HSR’s 280-unit multifamily building, the firm’s first residential development in Atlanta. The multifamily component will include shared parking and ground-floor retail space.
Designed by Perkins + Will, Science Square Labs will rise 13 stories with 35,558-square-foot floor plates. The facility will also feature ground-floor retail space and amenities such as a fitness center, conference space, indoor-outdoor tenant lounge and outdoor amenity deck.
TCC is seeking LEED and WELL certifications for the property and plans to incorporate View Dynamic Glass, which controls ultraviolet and visible light from entering the building without blinds. Additionally, the project will feature a 38,000-square-foot solar panel array atop the parking garage that Cherry Street Energy will install. Completion of Science Square Labs is slated for the first quarter of 2024.
As part of the Science Square Labs development, TCC is providing a $500,000 Community Educational Grant to support job training, education and outreach to help neighboring community members develop skills for participating in the life sciences industry.
“With the ground-up development of Science Square, we will have the ability to provide the infrastructure needed to capture the increasing demand for lab space generated from the growth of research and commercialization within the life sciences industry,” says Kelly Fox, executive vice president of administration and finance at Georgia Tech. “This catalytic development will solidify Atlanta’s position as one of the top emerging life sciences markets nationally, bringing with it new jobs, economic benefits and much-needed housing and amenities to Georgia Tech’s neighboring communities.”
TCC has expanded its partnership with Portal Innovations, a life sciences venture capital firm that will occupy a full floor at Science Square Labs. Portal Innovations will offer fully equipped lab space, seed financing and management expertise for startups. TCC is also building a floor of pre-built, speculative lab and office suites for growing life sciences companies.
Designed by Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio, HSR’s multifamily building will rise 14 stories and feature a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. There will be an affordable housing component, but specific income restrictions were not provided. The first units are slated to open in early 2024, with full completion anticipated for later that year.
Brasfield & Gorrie is the general contractor for the entire Science Square development.
TCC, founded in 1948, has developed or acquired 2,800 buildings valued at nearly $70 billion and over 625 million square feet. As of Dec. 31, TCC had $18.5 billion of projects in process and $9.3 billion in its pipeline. TCC is an independently operated subsidiary of Dallas-based CBRE.
HSR, the residential subsidiary of TCC, specializes in multifamily development. In the last 15 years, the company has completed more than $2.5 billion with a current pipeline of over 4,300 units.
GATV is a cooperative organization of Georgia Tech.
— Kristin Hiller