Wareham Specs 245,000-SF Lab Building

EMERYVILLE, CA-Without any early commitments, Wareham Development is under construction for EmeryStation East, a 245,000-sf laboratory building for the life sciences industry. The San Francisco-based company expects the four-story building near the foot of the San Francisco Bay Bridge to be ready for occupancy in May 2007.

Wareham paid about $10 million for the property and is constructing the facility at a cost of approximately $400 per sf. Wareham principal Chris Barlow tells GlobeSt.com that the reason for the $100-million development risk is simple.

“We have about 1.2 million sf of life science space in the Bay Area and we have zero vacancy,” he says. “The last two or three years, we have been able to accommodate growth by existing clients and service new ones. Now, without the new building, the problem we would have faced next was not being able to meet the next big requirement.”