A threat to Boston’s dominance? 9 projects transforming the Triangle’s biotech scene
For over two decades, greater Boston has been hailed as the world’s “mecca” for biotech and innovation.
But roughly 700 miles southwest, Raleigh-Durham is posing a serious threat to its dominance, The Boston Globe noted earlier this month.
Most of the major real estate players in Boston’s life-science world — King Street Properties and Longfellow, to name two — either have a presence in the Research Triangle area or are considering one. “They have to. It’s where their tenants are looking to grow,” Globe reporter Catherine Carlock wrote.
According to CBRE’s latest estimates, some $8.9 billion has been invested in the region’s life-science real estate since 2018, totaling more than 29 projects proposed or underway from companies like Fujifilm Diosynth and Amgen.
Rising interest rates and softening economic conditions have tempered tenant demand slightly over the last year, CBRE said in its 2023 fourth-quarter market report. But the region remains poised for continued growth.
Some 310,366 square feet of lab space — and 581,467 square feet of GMP/biomanufacturing space (GMP) — is currently under construction.
Separately, real estate firm JLL ranked Raleigh-Durham – not Boston – the No. 1 biomanufacturing market in the country, and a top five life-science cluster in the United States.
“It’s not overbuilt,” said Eric Forshee, JLL’s executive vice president, in an email. “Compared to the larger markets like Boston and the Bay Area, our market has been conservative. We have a lot of room to grow.”
Here’s a closer look at the pipeline: (Editor’s note: This list is not exhaustive, and construction schedules often change.)
Morrisville
Project: Spark Life Science (or Spark LS).
Description: Announced in January 2022, the project promises 1.5 million square feet of life-science lab and biomanufacturing space near the center of the Triangle.
Details: The North Carolina developer Trinity Capital and Miami Beach-based Starwood Capital pledged a combined $1 billion for the 109-acre Morrisville site, which will also include restaurants, retail and multifamily residential units.
Construction began in fall 2022.
Trinity delivered one lab building totaling 155,000 square feet and two GMP buildings totaling 372,000 square feet at Phase 1 of the Spark development in late 2023.
No tenants have signed to date, CBRE reports.
Project: Pathway Triangle
Description: Directly facing the construction on the other side of McCrimmon Parkway is the future site of Pathway Triangle, a 1 million-square-foot lab and biomedical facility that broke ground in 2021.
Details: The Massachusetts-based developer King Street Properties said the core and shell of the site’s initial buildings will be ready for delivery this quarter, according to the company’s website.
King Street and Trinity Capital are developing their projects without any tenant commitments.
“We and others here in the marketplace have such a strong belief in the marketplace and the future demand that we’re building them in advance of that,” Tim Skender, a Raleigh-based vice president at King Street Properties, said last year.
Research Triangle Park
Project: Via Labs at Hub RTP
Description: Inside Hub RTP, a “mini-city” in the middle of Research Triangle Park, Boston-based life-science real estate firm Longfellow is planning an eight-story tower called Via Labs.
Details: The building will sit next to a parking garage near the Hub’s I-40 entrance. Its first-floor ceilings will be higher than the rest to accommodate manufacturers in addition to research and development.
“We continue to work in tandem with RTP,” said Greg Capps, Longefellow’s managing director, in an email.
The firm hopes to break ground on the building sometime this year, though it’s seeking pre-leases for roughly 20% to 30% of the tower before starting construction.
“There are no finalized pre-leases. We continue several advanced talks with companies,” Longfellow spokesperson Casey Angel said.
Longfellow has a nationwide development portfolio, including roughly 5 million square feet in the Triangle. This includes the Durham ID building in downtown Durham. Six other life-science locations are proposed, including a 380,000-square-foot research lab, office and retail building in the 300 block of West Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. (See below).
Holly Springs
Project: Fujifilm Diosynth
Description: Japanese contract drug manufacturer Fujifilm Diosynth is building a $1.5 billion manufacturing plant, announced in 2021, in Holly Springs’ Oakview Innovation Park.
Details: The 1 million-square-foot plant will be built on 150 acres off State Road 1152, near Green Oaks Parkway. It’s about 1.5 miles west of Holly Springs Towne Center on N.C. 55.
It’s expected to bring up to 725 jobs paying an average annual wage of $99,848 to the area over five years.
Fujifilm Diosynth received local incentives worth more than $90 million for the expansion.
The facility is expected to be operational by 2025.
Project: Catalyst Biocampus
Description: New York-based global private equity firm Apollo Global Management and its development partner GeneSuites announced plans for Catalyst BioCampus in January 2023. It promises “up to 446,000 square feet” of biomanufacturing, lab and office space in Holly Spring’s Oakview Innovation Park.
Details: The campus covers 25 acres at the intersection of Green Oaks Parkway and Holly Springs’ New Hill Road.
The company is currently offering two advanced building shells totaling over 338,000 square feet, according to the company’s brochure.
The structures are ready for immediate tenant fit-out to enable biomanufacturing “as early as the fourth quarter of 2024.”
Project: Amgen
Description: California-based Amgen broke ground in 2022 on a new 350,000-square-foot multi-product drug manufacturing plant in Holly Springs.
Details: Amgen said it plans to invest $550 million in the project. It’s expected to employ more than 355 people. The jobs will pay an average wage of $119,510.
Amgen received local incentives worth more than $35 million for the expansion, which is scheduled to open by 2025.
Durham
Project: Sterling Bay
Description: Chicago-based development firm Sterling Bay is planning to transform the aging Heritage Square shopping center at 606 Fayetteville St. into a 10-acre life-science campus.
Details: Developers paid $62.5 million for the property in the Hayti community near downtown in 2022.
Plans include a 13-story residential tower next to an 11-story office building. The buildings will be joined at the base by a three-floor slab containing parking, restaurants and retail.
Partnering with investors Harrison Street and Acram Group, they expect to spend $500 million on the project over the next decade.
They plan to start construction on the site’s northeast corner, just south of N.C. 147, in 2024, said Julie Goudie, Sterling Bay’s director of communication.
They have no tenants secured for the labs and offices, but Goudie said they are actively in the market to lease space.
The firm has said it intends to find local businesses for retail and restaurant spaces. It won’t build out the labs themselves but expects to attract tenants who specialize in the biological sciences.
Chapel Hill
Project: 150 E. Rosemary St.
Description: Cary-based Grubb Properties is constructing a 238,000-square-foot, seven-story office building and wet-lab facility on the 1.5-acre parcel at 150 East Rosemary.
Details: Approved in late 2021, it will replace the Wallace parking deck and include three levels of underground parking and dedicated street-level space for retail stores, restaurants and a public plaza.
Grubb Properties obtained the site in a land swap with the town — the town-owned Wallace Parking Deck for the former CVS parking deck that Grubb owned at 125 E. Rosemary St., The N&O previously reported.
Last year, Grubb completed the renovation of the former CVS building at 136 E. Rosemary St. and 137 E. Franklin St. to create an Innovation Hub.
Renamed Carolina Junction, it encompasses two buildings: 136 East Rosemary St. and the adjoining 137 East Franklin St.
It launched as part of the first phase of the town’s new innovation district.
California-based BioLabs, a coworking space for life science startups, is leasing the entire third floor, over 23,000 square feet, for shared wet labs and office facilities for new research-based startups.
Project: 306 W. Franklin St.
Description: Longfellow Real Estate Partners is planning for up to 380,000 square feet of research lab, office and retail in the 300 block of West Franklin Street.
Details: The 1.84-acre site is between West Franklin and West Rosemary streets, between the Bicycle Chain store and Cholanad restaurant.
Though the project’s architects are still finalizing designs, the Boston-based developer said it is expected to include a public plaza on West Franklin Street and a walkway between West Franklin and West Rosemary streets.
The project will rely primarily on off-site parking but includes 100 to 120 underground parking spaces on site.
The future of the Blue Dogwood Public Market and other small businesses remains unclear. The developers have reached out to current tenants along the block and are negotiating possible solutions though weekly discussions, a Longfellow spokesman told The N&O.
On the Market
Keep up with the latest Triangle real estate news by subscribing to On the Market, The News & Observer's free weekly real estate newsletter. Look for it in your inbox every Thursday morning. Sign up here.
