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New Life Science Campus Set for Right Place, Right Time

Building lab space in Torrey Pines is such a sure thing that Healthpeak Properties Inc. based in Irvine is investing $164 million constructing a three-building life science campus on Science Center Drive.

Formerly known as HCP Inc., Healthpeak Properties is gutting and renovating an existing 77,000 square-foot building the company owns at 10275 Science Drive and erecting two new buildings next to it at 10265 and 10285 Science Center Drive.

The building at 10285 Science Center Drive will be 42,000 square feet and the building at 10265 Science Center Drive will be 79,000 square feet, said Richard Danesi, a senior vice president with CBRE.

Danesi, Jed Stirnkorb and Andrew Huggett of CBRE are the leasing agents on the property, which has been named The Boardwalk.

Building on Spec

Healthpeak Properties is building the life science campus on speculation with no tenants lined up but already has had several express interest in leasing space and has no worries about filling the space, said Mike Dorris, a company vice president.

“The market is very strong. Vacancy rates are very low. Rents are very high,” Dorris said. “It’s in the core of the Torrey Pines submarket with excellent visibility with views south over the (Interstate) 5.”

Rents for life science space in Torrey Pines were at an all-time high of $4.76 per square-foot, Danesi said.

In nearby UTC, rents are running at $4.38 per square foot and rents for life science space in Sorrento Mesa were $3.87 per square foot and $3.76 per square foot in Sorrento Valley.

With Torrey Pines, they are the most popular locations for life science companies in part because of their proximity to the University of California San Diego and Scripps Research.

Since 2010, rents in the prime life science markets have jumped by about 77 percent, Danesi said.

“When you look at those kinds of things along with the amount of venture capital that’s come into San Diego and the demand that’s around, now is the time (to build),” Danesi said.

Amenities will include a one-acre park between the two larger buildings, a 5,000 square-foot fitness center, a conference center and a full service restaurant, Dorris said.

“There will be an outdoor space that will be able to accommodate outdoor recreational activities as well as outdoor conferencing, a collaborative area for folks to meet, Dorris said.

The buildings themselves will have 16-foot ceilings, heavy power, backup power and below ground parking for each building, Danesi said.

“When you have a regular office building, sometimes there are shortfalls with power and ceiling heights,” Danesi said. “These buildings are specifically built for state-of-the-art lab companies.”

Start Date

Construction on the campus is starting this month with the first tenants able to move in by March or April of 2021, Danesi said.

Healthpeak Properties is one of San Diego’s largest life science landlords, owning nearly 2 million square feet of life science property in Torrey Pines, UTC and Sorrento Mesa and 70,000 square feet of office space in Poway that’s leased to General Atomics, Dorris said.

He said the company also has life science holdings in the Bay Area and Boston with additional investments in senior housing and medical office space.

“Life science is probably a quarter of the REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust),” Dorris said.

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