Alexandria Real Equities, a life sciences real estate developer, has bought a 5.2-acre property in Bellevue, Wash., for $77.5 million. The purchase was first reported by the Puget Sound Business Journal.
Alexandria Executive Chairman and founder Joel Marcus declined to comment in response to a query from GeekWire.
Alexandria bought the property from Bellevue company Pine Forest, which has been planning a large mixed-use development for the site. It is in the Spring Hill neighborhood at 1239 120th Ave. NE and near a future light rail station that will connect Seattle to eastside cities such as Bellevue, which is experiencing a tech boom.
Alexandria’s buildings house operations for some of the Seattle area’s biggest biotech companies, including Seattle-based Sana Biotechnology and Bothell-based Seagen. Alexandria is developing a life sciences hub at Seattle’s almost three-acre Mercer Mega Block. Though it is best known for the life sciences, the company also owns agtech and tech buildings.
Life sciences space is in demand in the Seattle region, with tenants seeking 1.2 million square feet of space and 1.1 million square feet of development underway that does not yet have a tenant signed up, according to a recent CBRE report. The region has approximately 9 million square feet of lab and R&D space, with vacancy rates at 7.1%.
Venture funding for the life sciences is at record highs nationally and in the Seattle area. Seattle area life sciences companies raised $898 million in the 12 months ending this September, and $958 million in the previous 12-month time frame, according to the CBRE report. That’s compared to $328 million two years ago, from September 2018 through September 2019.