Biotechnology

Canadian developer Oxford Properties has expanded its real estate portfolio in the United States with the acquisition of four new assets. Representing an investment of $276 million in the burgeoning life sciences industry, the purchase included a total of 415,000 sf of existing space and associated developable land. Oxford Properties plans to spend an additional $500 million to repurpose, renovate, and expand the four structures to create leading-edge lab and office environments for biomedical tenants. 

Silverstein Properties & Cantor Fitzgerald are partnering with University Place Associates to create a biomedical innovation center in Philadelphia. Providing leading-edge lab and office facilities, 3.0 University Place is pre-certified as LEED Platinum v4 BD+C for core and shell, and will also target WELL Core v2 Platinum certification.

BioMed Realty is creating a 482,000-sf life sciences hub in Boston's Seaport District. Previously serving as the corporate headquarters of John Hancock, the building was acquired by BioMed Realty in late 2020. Featuring robust mechanical and electrical systems, the existing structure has attained LEED Platinum sustainable design certification and includes a variety of collaborative meeting areas. The facility will be renovated to provide sophisticated lab and office environments for biomedical companies. Occupancy is expected in the second half of 2022. 

Thermo Fisher Scientific is expanding its global production capacity for vaccines, medicines, and biologic therapies. Construction will begin in mid-2021 on a 130,000-sf facility in Greenville, N.C. Slated for completion in 2022, the standalone structure will accommodate two live-virus filling lines. The project is part of a $500 million investment in the site that will add six new lines in existing buildings to support commercial-scale liquid vial filling and the creation of lyophilized materials. 

Millennium Partners and Beacon Capital Partners will begin construction in late 2021 on a 380,000-sf life sciences facility in Boston. Designed by Handel Architects in collaboration with STUDIO ENÉE, the mixed-use development will provide leading-edge laboratories, offices, and R&D suites clustered around a collaborative open space. Located on 4.6 acres in the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park, the eight-story project will feature a central core of corrugated metal to celebrate the area's industrial heritage.

Nationwide Children's Hospital is constructing a $100 million gene therapy manufacturing center in Columbus, Ohio. The 185,000-sf facility will enable Andelyn Biosciences, a for-profit subsidiary of Nationwide Children's, to supply pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with genetic material for use in research and clinical trials. Located in The Ohio State University's Innovation District, the leased structure will feature advanced cGMP environments for commercial-scale manufacturing.

The life sciences industry has become the great hope in real estate, as we face the most significant public health crisis in a century. While other industries have slowed and suffered as a result of sheltering in place and working from home, science facilities have remained operational and even have thrived in prime markets, as the industry continues to search for medical breakthroughs. The downturn in other industries has left buildings vacant. The life science market, on the other hand, continues to experience some of the lowest vacancy and highest employment rates. For life science organizations in the prime U.S. markets, there simply remains a shortage of available research-capable space. Enter the big pivot to science.

The University of Oregon dedicated the first phase of the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact in December of 2020 in Eugene. Designed by Ennead Architects and Bora Architects to encourage interaction and collaboration, the $225 million, 160,000-sf building offers leading-edge biomedical laboratories, core facilities, classrooms, and an innovation center.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities has attained the world's first WELL Health-Safety Rating for laboratory space at Alexandria LaunchLabs in New York City. Augmenting the center’s existing WELL certification for building design, the WELL Health-Safety Rating for Facilities Operations and Management includes further measures to protect the health of tenants, employees, visitors, and service personnel. Protocols at Alexandria LaunchLabs include:

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) began construction in October of 2020 on the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre in Inchinnan in the United Kingdom. Created in collaboration with the University of Strathclyde, GSK, and AstraZeneca, the £42 million facility will enable the development of new pharmaceutical production methods that will be proven at scale in a GMP environment.

Lincoln Property Company is creating a mixed-use campus in Lexington, Mass. Designed by DiMella Shaffer, the development will include a laboratory building providing 95,000 sf of Class A research space linked by a central promenade to a 125,000-sf office facility. Strategically sited in the burgeoning life sciences district along the Route 128 corridor, the complex will include a community hub with a café to encourage interaction and collaboration between tenants, as well as a 502-space parking garage.

Merck is constructing a $69 million facility for the production of high-potency active pharmaceutical ingredient (HPAPI) and antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) compounds. Representing an expansion of the company's existing campus near Madison, the 70,000-sf structure will feature containment environments specifically designed for the manufacture of substances with single-digit nanogram occupational exposure limits. The building will allow the large-scale production of increasingly potent compounds for the creation of innovative cancer therapeutics.

Facility Logix, EwingCole, and Biggins Lacy Shapiro have launched Rapid Reshore & Development (RR&D) to provide turnkey professional services to the life sciences and biopharmaceutical industries. Addressing many of the logistical challenges faced by companies developing drugs, vaccines, and medical devices, the alliance represents an evolution from transaction-driven service models to a holistic focus on client needs.

Construction began in October of 2020 on the $44.2 million Discovery Square 2 building in Rochester, Minn. Designed by RSP Architects, the 125,000-sf facility will offer leasable research environments for life science companies. Sited in the Destination Medical Center district, the five-story structure will feature advanced laboratory infrastructure, centralized common spaces, and a physical connection to the adjacent One Discovery Square building.

King Street Properties has fully leased a 214,440-sf research facility in Lexington, Mass., to four pharmaceutical companies. Designed by R E Dinneen Architects & Planners, the four-story building will offer leading-edge lab and office environments for biomedical research. JLL is the leasing agent for the development, which has yet to open. Tenants include: