Tishman Speyer Launches Life Sciences Division with Bellco
Cancer researcher Arie Belldegrun’s Bellco Capital has joined the New York-based real estate firm to form a life science real estate company, named Breakthrough Properties.
NEW YORK CITY—Tishman Speyer, the New York-based developer and operator of commercial real estate properties, has teamed up with Bellco Capital, an investment company founded by Drs. Arie and Rebecka Belldegrun, to form Breakthrough Properties. The new company will develop and operate life sciences properties in technology centers around the world. The properties will support research in biotechnology developing medical treatments, agriculture and nutrition.
Bloomberg reported that Arie Belldegrun, a cancer doctor, sold his pharmaceutical company for $12 billion. The Belldegrun’s family office, Bellco Capital, a private equity firm based in Los Angeles, is managed by Arie’s wife, Rebecka.
The board co-chairs for the new life sciences real estate company, Breakthrough, are Arie Belldegrun and Tishman Speyer president and CEO Rob Speyer. The Belldegruns’ son, Dan, a long-term member of Tishman Speyer’s acquisitions and development team, has been appointed as Breakthrough’s CEO.
Breakthrough has acquired its first property, a one-acre development site at 105 W. First St., along the A Street corridor in Boston’s Seaport District, from CV Properties & Ares. The property comes with 250,000 square feet of development rights. Although the purchase price was not disclosed, The Business Journal and Bloomberg have reported it was $80 million. The development is expected to be completed in 2021.
The combination of Tishman Speyer and Bellco brings together two powerful forces from the real estate and life sciences worlds. Bloomberg notes that Arie Belldegrun, age 69, is a UCLA-based cancer researcher and surgeon, as well as entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He sold Kite Pharma to Gilead Sciences for $11.9 billion. He also co-founded Allogen Therapeutics, a cancer cell therapy research company that had the second largest biotech IPO of 2018.
Founded in 1978, Tishman Speyer owns and manages properties in the US, Europe, Latin America and Asia in 29 markets. Its portfolio of 175 million square feet extends over 411 assets.
Breakthrough plans to develop life sciences facilities on a global scale. “Life science innovation is happening at an unprecedented pace as technology and science continue to merge. Breakthrough is ideally positioned to support this new paradigm and help innovators around the globe pursue life-changing discoveries,” says Dan Belldegrun. “We are thrilled to launch this effort with our first deal in Boston, and quickly expand to other innovation markets around the world.”