Jon Varholak, Robert Richards and Steve Purpura, partners at Richards Barry Joyce & Partners, represented Protein Forest in the transaction while CB Richard Ellis represented property owner Alexandria RE Equities.

Russell Garlick, CEO of Protein Forest, notes that the company had some very "unique concerns" in its search for its first corporate location because of the nature of its business as well as its start-up status. "Finding the right laboratory space is always a challenging experience because there are so many factors to be concerned with," says Varholak. "We worked closely with Protein Forest to understand their specific needs and came up with a real estate solution that properly matches their situation."

Lease rates for this deal were not available, but the average asking rent for space in the area is at $23 per sf. According to Grubb & Ellis's most recent statistics, vacancy rates in the area remain at about 19%.