March 28, 2016

BioMed expands its complex in SLU

Courtesy BioMed Realty Trust [enlarge]

BioMed Realty Trust just opened this 122,700 square-foot building on Fairview for life sciences research.

San Diego-based BioMed Realty Trust has expanded its life sciences lab and office complex in South Lake Union and given it a new name: Vue Research Center.

The new seven-story, 122,700-square-foot structure is at 500 Fairview Ave. N., right next door to BioMed Realty's five-story, 96,305-square-foot lab facility at 530 Fairview that opened in 2008.

The new complex is approximately 67 percent leased, with such tenants as Novo Nordisk, NanoString Technologies, Presage Biosciences and Blaze Bioscience. Novo Nordisk and NanoString have space in both structures.

ZGF Architects designed the expansion, and GLY Construction built it.

The new building has a gym and a conference room for about 100 people. Cherry Street Coffee House is opening a shop there.

At an opening event last week for the new facility, there was a panel discussion about how Seattle compares with other biotech markets.

The Danish company Novo Nordisk has been in Seattle since 2009 when it leased space in BioMed Realty's 530 Fairview building. Jan Beck, vice president at Novo Nordisk, said Seattle is among the top life sciences markets for a few reasons. He said the high quality of scientists and others who move here or graduate from local universities is a big draw, as well as the innovations and research breakthroughs that have found commercial success here.

Beck said the life sciences community in Seattle is unique in that there is a healthy level of competition among companies, but also collaboration.

Seattle has a lot of things going for it that other cities can't match, Beck said, but there needs to be more focus on promoting it to attract talented people here from around the world who don't know about this area.

Brad Gray, president and CEO of Seattle-based NanoString, said Seattle has great scientists and researchers but lacks skilled people on the business side like executives, marketing and sales people focused on life sciences.

Alan Gold, president and CEO of BioMed Realty, said Seattle still has work to do to compete with other top life sciences and biotech markets. Making more land available for biotech uses, and strengthening bonds between schools and the local life sciences industry are a couple of ways Seattle could become stronger in biotech, Gold said.

The most important thing for Seattle's future as a life sciences hub is getting a critical mass of companies and talented people, Gray said. That will feed the market and encourage public leaders to offer financial incentives to help life sciences companies grow.

“Once you get a certain amount of momentum, then it starts to sustain itself, but I still don't think we're quite there yet,” Gray said.