MIAMI-Once a mere vision in the mind of Wexford Science & Technology, the University of Miami Life Science & Technology Park is filling up fast. The developer just inked a 20,000-square-foot lease with one of South Florida’s largest dedicated Phase I-IV clinical research facilities, Advanced Pharma CR.

Wexford got the deal done just a week before the park’s formal dedication ceremony. With its latest lease, the park is now 60% occupied just two months after opening its doors to tenants. The 252,000-square-foot facility houses wet and dry labs, offices, lab-ready development suites and retail space.

“The theme is a focus on commercialization, as well as a focus on the combination of technology and life sciences,” Bill Hunter, project leasing manager for UMLSTP, tells GlobeSt.com. “Most research parks talk of ‘bench to bedside’ but because we have such a robust medical cluster I am seeing a strong trend of ‘bedside to bench’ emerging. Technologies are being developed out of practical needs in the patient environment.”