Life Science Hub Headed Manhattan’s Far West Side

Manhattan’s far west side is getting a new life science facility. The Georgetown Co. has redeveloped of a 200,000-square-foot property to create a laboratory, research, clinical and biomedical facilities. The property is already fully leased to Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine and designer, scientist and inventor Neri Oxman.

Georgetown purchased the site in 2015 in partnership with Pershing Square Capital Management’s Bill Ackman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, LeBron James and Jimmy Iovine after identifying the demand for life science facilities in the submarket. It conducted a $100 million renovation and redevelopment of the existing facility to accommodate life science tenants. The redevelopment included adding 60,000-square-foot floor plates and generous ceiling heights to accommodate specialized laboratory and mechanical equipment. The property also has natural light across the entire perimeter of the building. It is one of the largest life science campuses in New York City, according to Georgetown.

Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine will anchor the property, occupying 165,000-square-foot under a long-term lease. The lease transaction is one of the largest so far this year, and is larger than the total current stock of life science space in Manhattan, illustrating the demand for this product type. The facility will house research cores in genome sequencing and genomic development technology, proteomics and protein engineering, gene and cell editing with a focus on stem cell and 3D organoid technology and high throughput screening for the development of molecular drugs and biological agents for novel disease treatment; Mount Sinai West Spine Center and Breast Center, offering the most advanced diagnostic, non-operative, and surgical options for patients; Comprehensive Imaging Center; and a state-of-the-art ambulatory surgery center, focusing on minimally invasive spine procedures, out-patient joint replacement, breast surgery and orthopaedic sports medicine. Georgetown will build out the space in conjunction with Mount Sinai with a delivery planned for 2024.

Neri Oxman will house the additional 36,000 square feet of space at the property. The facility will house a research and design practice to “foster systemic changes in the built environment by radically realigning methods of design and production with the natural world,” according to Georgetown.

Life science has been one of the few growth sectors during the pandemic, and institutional capital is beginning to flood into the space. In November, Nicole Riley of Goodwin’s Business Law Department called life science “an asset class that you can’t ignore anymore.” Last year, 29 life science funds had closed almost $16 billion, and the funding is pushing growth of life science into new markets, like New York. Raleigh and Philadelphia are also top targets for life science growth.