Avison Young Launches Life Sciences Group

TORONTO—Brokerage firm Avison Young has formed a new international life science specialty group that will be led by executives in US markets in San Diego and New Jersey.

Mark E. Rose, chair and CEO of Avison Young, says the new group will span 10 regional markets in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe and comprise 17 Avison Young leasing professionals.

“The new practice group’s members understand the pharmaceutical product life cycle as well as the technical complexities that can create budgetary and scheduling risk associated with life sciences firms’ real estate requirements,” Rose says.

The group is led by Jerry Keeney, Avison Young principal and managing director of the firm’s San Diego office; principal Brian Cooper, who is also based in San Diego; New Jersey-based principal Tom Giannone and Steve Bleiweiss, a SVP, in the firm’s Metropark (Iselin), NJ office.

Some of the life sciences requirements will include laboratories, vivariums, pilot plants and manufacturing facilities. The new group expects to provide client services to address risks in the planning, designing, engineering and construction phases of life science spaces.

Avison Young officials say the group’s focus will be on “integrating each client’s technical and financial requirements into the lease-negotiation process, ensuring that requirements are appropriately incorporated within transaction documents.” They say this process is geared at fostering the development of innovative strategies that enable their clients to make more fully informed decisions.

Keeney adds, “The life-sciences industry is expanding at a rapid pace, accounting for much of the leasing activity in markets such as San Francisco, Boston and San Diego. The launch of our partnership at the global level allows us to formulate solutions for our clients who often have operations in more than one location.”