Longfellow Real Estate Partners has acquired the 250,000-square-foot San Mateo Bay Center for $156 million from Rubicon Point Partners. Although currently 88% leased, the property has significant upside potential as a life science conversion project.

San Mateo is one of the fastest growing life science clusters in the nation. The market currently has 3.4 million square feet in new life science space scheduled to deliver by the end of the year, but 83% is already preleased. As a result, there is only about 590,000 square feet of available space but an estimated tenant demand of 3.1 million square feet.

While the demand supports the conversion project, Longfellow is able to take advantage of the opportunity because nearly 200,000 square feet in leases at the property will turn in the next three years, creating an opening for the ownership to take advantage of the emerging market demand for quality life science space.