10770 Wateridge Circle 10770 Wateridge Circle

Chicago-based investment firm Harrison Street has expanded its portfolio the San Diego life science market. The company has acquired two properties in the Sorrento Mesa neighborhood in a partnership with BioScience Properties. The two properties total of 234,000 square feet and were recently converted to class-A life science space following a complete rehab project.

"San Diego is a primary life science market, benefiting from a highly skilled employee base and strong educational institutions," Mark Burkemper, a senior managing director and head of transactions group of North America at Harrison Street, tells GlobeSt.com. "Many life science companies have been built in San Diego or have expanded their presence in San Diego for these attractive fundamentals."

The recent renovation made these an attractive investment opportunity for the firm. "These assets are newly renovated, class A life science buildings that boast a diverse tenant roster and are well suited to meet the needs of current and future life science users," says Burkemper. "In particular, the Sorrento Mesa submarket is the fastest growing submarket within San Diego."

The firm has been focused on the San Diego market, investing across asset classes, including life science, seniors housing, student housing and medical office. "With a solid base of leading education and healthcare institutions, investing in San Diego aligns well with Harrison Street's core investment thesis and expects to continue to grow its San Diego presence over time," says Burkemper.

Harrison Street began escrow on the asset prior to the pandemic, but continued negotiations and closed the deal during the pandemic. Despite the recent disruption, the investor believes in the long-term viability of these assets and the market. "As long-term investors, the long-term life science fundamentals remain attractive," says Burkemper. "Across Harrison Street's life science portfolio, we have long-term leases with leading life sciences, biotech and big pharma tenants that have a strong credit profile. Harrison Street's life science tenants have experienced minimal disruption due to the pandemic; in fact, a number of Harrison Street's life science tenants are actively working on solutions to address the pandemic, including the development of a vaccine for COVID-19."

Like its other assets, Harrison Street plans to hold the property for the long term, and plans to add value where it can. The two properties are located at 10770 Wateridge Circle and 6325 Lusk Boulevard and include laboratory, manufacturing, office and research and development space.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.

Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Kelsi Maree Borland

Kelsi Maree Borland is a freelance journalist and magazine writer based in Los Angeles, California. For more than 5 years, she has extensively reported on the commercial real estate industry, covering major deals across all commercial asset classes, investment strategy and capital markets trends, market commentary, economic trends and new technologies disrupting and revolutionizing the industry. Her work appears daily on GlobeSt.com and regularly in Real Estate Forum Magazine. As a magazine writer, she covers lifestyle and travel trends. Her work has appeared in Angeleno, Los Angeles Magazine, Travel and Leisure and more.