Bay Area Life Sciences Portfolio Trades For $1,168/SF

In the priciest Bay Area deal this year in the burgeoning biotech sector, GI Partners has acquired three life science campuses from Alexandria Real Estate Equities for $388M.

The deal for the campuses, which combined total about 332K SF, translates to $1,168 per square foot.

The multi-tenant properties acquired by San Francisco-based GI Partners includes campuses at 7000 Shoreline Court and 381-383 Oyster Point Boulevard in South San Francisco and a complex at 75-125 Shoreway Road in San Carlos.

GI made the acquisitions using its Essential Tech & Science (ETS) Fund, a $1.5B fund the investment firm formed last year. The South San Francisco properties ETS acquired from Pasadena-based Alexandria were built about 20 years ago, with the San Carlos campus dating back to 1987.

The ETS fund, which targets what GI calls “always on” R&D facilities, has made nearly a dozen acquisitions this year.

In February, the fund purchased three life sciences campuses in two states. The acquisitions included a campus at 51 Melcher Street in Boston’s Seaport life sciences district; a complex at 3 Burlington Woods in Burlington, MA; and the Regency Woods life science campus at Research Triangle Park in Raleigh, NC.

The fund, which counts among its investors a mix of public pensions, corporate pensions, investment firms and financial institutions, also has acquired five other Bay Area tech park assets since it was launched, including Mt. Eden Research Park in Haywood; The Point in Redwood City; and a portfolio of three Santa Clara data centers known as the Walsh-Bowers Assemblage.

In 2021, GI Partners raised $3.9B for its private equity fund known as GI Partners Fund VI. The equity fund, launched in November of 2020, has acquired stakes in companies including multifamily amenities player Valet Living.

Earlier this month, Bayland Development unveiled plans to build a 1M SF, $800M complex that combines a life science research hub with an upscale hotel on Sierra Point, a man-made peninsula in Brisbane, a suburb of South San Francisco.

Brisbane is the epicenter of a surge in life science development, including Healthpeak Properties’ 1.3M SF life science campus at 8000 Marina. Another recent development, The Shore at Sierra Point, is a five-building campus encompassing 620K SF on a 23-acre site.

On the other side of Brisbane’s marina, the GENESIS Marina life sciences campus is scheduled for delivery in Q3 2023. The complex, with three interconnected buildings, will offer more than 560K SF of Class A lab and office space with convenient access to nearby Highway 101.