PeaceHealth Buys 35-Acre Sony Facility for Medical Laboratory

SPRINGFIELD, OR-PeaceHealth, a Bellevue, Washington-based nonprofit healthcare system has purchased Sony’s former compact disc manufacturing plant here for $16.9 million. Located at 123 International Way in the region’s industrial area, the 35-acre property includes the 327,000-sf manufacturing facility, associated parking and 18 excess acres, of which about seven acres are developable.Completed in 1995, the facility includes 52,000 sf of class A office space; a 10,000-sf clean room; 70,000 sf of clean manufacturing and support area; 58,000 sf of air-conditioned; 28-foot clear warehouse space and an 11,800-sf heated shipping area. PeaceHealth says the facility will be occupied by PeaceHealth’s Oregon Medical Laboratories. OML is the hospital laboratory for Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, which borders Springfield. OML also serves as a reference laboratory for hospitals in Oregon, Washington and southeastern Alaska. Colliers International’s Seattle-based Advanced Technology Real Estate Group (ATREG) represented Sony in the transaction in conjunction with Paul Breuer in Colliers’ Portland office and Sue Prichard of the Eugene-based brokerage firm Prichard, Evans and Elder. “This building, with its existing laboratory space, is a perfect fit for OML,” says Stephen Rothrock, executive director of ATREG. “The adaptive re-use from CD manufacturing in a clean room environment to medical lab, with minimal modifications, is a natural considering the advanced technology infrastructure. This signals a trend in utilizing existing high-tech buildings for biotech.” Doug Barrett, associate director of ATREG, tells GlobeSt.com that the facility was marketed nationally and internationally for one year, attracting offers from trade manufacturers, warehouse-distribution type companies and developers and investors. “PeaceHealth, which stood to benefit the most from the building’s advanced technology infrastructure, was able to offer the most for the property,” says Barrett. ATREG’s role was to properly value the building against similar facilities nationally and internationally that also are for sale and to market the building to the broader audience, says Barrett. Breuer’s role was to market the building regionally and Prichard’s role was to conduct local due diligence and marketing. “It was a team effort to move this facility, and it was successful,” says Barrett. “Similar buildings have been sitting on the market in excess of two years.”ATREG also has the sales assignment for Sumco’s silicon wafer manufacturing facility in Salem and Harbour Pointe Technology Center in Everett, WA which is a former defense manufacturing facility.