May 23, 2022

Foundations for Life Sciences Growth

Lloyd Proctor
Market Development Manager, Open Square

The explosive growth in the life science industry continues to demand space, despite and because of pandemic challenges. Activities are robust in greater Boston and the Bay Area, and the Seattle real estate market continues to solidify its position as a leading tier 2 market for life sciences. Now ranked among the top 10 life sciences markets in the country, the active efforts to identify Seattle investment and development opportunities for one of the fastest-growing asset classes shows few signs of slowing down.

Courtesy of JLL

Owners continue to re-evaluate building floorplates, location adjacencies, workplace environments, and how start-ups are conducting their research. Much of the commercial real estate community is looking to life sciences as a strategic pivot to increase the value of their Class B/C assets

According to CBRE reports, roughly 1.1 to 1.3M square feet of lab space is desired by existing tenants in the Seattle market. Some primary challenges to consider are the varied requirements tenants have for lab environments, how to provide solutions for startups that accommodate growth, and how to position and deliver lab solutions to retain newly funded start-ups that have historically departed Seattle for more mature East Coast or Bay Area markets.

Open Square Market Development Manager Lloyd Proctor will moderate a panel at the June 2 Bisnow Life Sciences conference. In the conversation around Establishing the Foundation for Biotech Ecosystems, panelists intend to emphasize the evolution of lab ecosystems, the impact that may have on strategic investments, and how to present spec space to attract the next round of start-ups.

Key Talking Points:

Current state of the life sciences market
Leasing rates and demand for offices in comparison to labs
Key considerations for lab spaces in today’s market

Will you be in Seattle on June 2? If so, register for the event here

If not we'll share the expert observations and recommendations once they have concluded.