Most of One uCity Square was already leased before Wexford Science & Technology inaugurated the 400,000-square-foot life sciences building in January 2023. The impeccable timing aligned with the peak demand for life sciences space in the first half of 2022, according to Wexford’s Vice President of Development, Pete Cramer. Currently, Wexford has shifted its attention… Read more »
NexPoint, a multibillion-dollar alternative investment firm, has acquired two life sciences industrial properties in Philadelphia, in a sale-leaseback deal financed with a commercial mortgage-backed securities loan from KeyBank. The properties were indirectly acquired by NexPoint Life Sciences II DST, a Delaware statutory trust seeking to raise $42 million from accredited investors via a private placement… Read more »
A $100 million, 250,000-square-foot University City life sciences building is about a month away from receiving its temporary certificate of occupancy and the developer is deep in negotiations with potential tenants. The eight-story University Place 3.0 is at 4101 Market St. near several other life sciences and residential projects in development-heavy University City. In addition… Read more »
Breakthrough Properties has secured a $130 million construction loan for the development of an eight-story life sciences building at 2300 Market St. Construction on the project is already underway, and the 223,000-square-foot building is expected to be delivered in mid-2024 for tenants to fit out their space. Breakthrough Properties, a joint venture between New York… Read more »
A Philadelphia cell and gene therapy contract manufacturer is emerging from stealth mode with $64 million in funding, a custom-built facility at the Navy Yard and a veteran health care executive as its new CEO. VintaBio was founded in 2020 by Junwei Sun and Dr. Shangzhen Zhou, who developed the first viral vectors used for… Read more »
Fast-growing French biotechnology company bioMérieux has outgrown its space at the University City Science Center and will relocate into 32,000 square feet at a building under development at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. It’s the first lease signed for the new building at 1201 Normandy Place, a project scheduled to open in June. BioMérieux plans to… Read more »
Silicon Valley Bank’s failure — the largest in the U.S. since the 2008 financial crisis — has spawned shockwaves across the U.S. startup scene and sent some companies scrambling to secure funds for payroll and other expenses. The panic was sparked by the bank’s announcement that it planned to raise $2.25 billion after losing $1.8… Read more »
Spark Therapeutics officially broke ground Tuesday on its $575 million Gene Therapy Innovation Center in University City — a project that will double the company’s physical footprint in Philadelphia. The more than 500,000-square-foot, six-story building at 30th and Chestnut streets on Drexel University’s campus is being designed to serve as the global gene therapy manufacturing… Read more »
Real estate company SkyREM plans to spend $250 million converting the historic Quartermaster site in South Philadelphia to a life sciences campus with restaurants and a hotel. The redevelopment would feature wet and dry lab space for research, development and bio-manufacturing. The renamed Quartermaster Science + Technology Park is near the southwest corner of Oregon… Read more »
Gattuso Development Partners and Vigilant Holdings of New York have secured a $290 million construction loan for a major life sciences building set to be developed on Drexel University’s campus. The funding comes from Houston-based Corebridge Financial, with an additional equity commitment from Boston-based Baupost Group, which is also a partner on the project. Plans… Read more »
