Denver-based real estate investment trust company Healthpeak Properties recently announced that it had obtained approval for the next two phases of construction at its Vantage life sciences office campus in South San Francisco.
The newly awarded entitlements cover 1.3 million square feet of additional space, which doubles the allowable density that Healthpeak banked on when it acquired the land. Additionally, the long-term nature of the entitlements granted offers the company flexibility to deliver phases II and III of the development at a pace that aligns with forecasted market demand.
Upon completion, the purpose-built lab development campus will incorporate a total of 1.7 million square feet of strategically located lab and office space in South San Francisco. Spanning a total of 20 acres within close proximity of the headquarters of biotechnology corporation Genentech, Vantage offers tenants a highly amenitized location with convenient access to multiple modes of transportation. For instance, the campus features direct access to the Rails-to-Trails pathway, which provides a pedestrian connection to downtown South San Francisco’s restaurant and retail corridor, as well as the recently renovated Caltrain station.
Healthpeak began construction of Vantage phase I in 2022 to deliver 343,000 rental square feet across two buildings — Vantage A and Vantage B at 480 and 490 Forbes Blvd., respectively — as well as a 40,000-square-foot amenity building featuring multiple dining options, conferencing space, and a fitness center.
Japanese multinational pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma leased the 154,000-square-foot Vantage Building A in 2022 to serve as its West Coast innovation and research center. Then, this past December, the company reportedly started moving into what will be the consolidated home for several business units and functions that were scattered throughout the San Francisco area.
“Inspired by our success at The Cove and other nearby campuses, the Vantage master plan is a continuation of Healthpeak’s vision to create a world-class campus that provides an inviting and collaborative setting for the nurturing of ideas, knowledge, and discoveries that shape the biotech industry,” said Scott Bohn, chief development officer, and co-head of the lab division at Healthpeak. “The future phases of Vantage provide Healthpeak a strategic development pipeline to meet the growth needs of our current and future tenants. We’re appreciative of the collaborative and mutually beneficial relationship we have fostered with the City of South San Francisco over the past three decades and look forward to Vantage furthering South San Francisco’s position as a leading market for biotech innovation.”
South San Francisco is home to one of the fastest-growing life sciences clusters on the peninsula. Offering convenient access to the Bay Area’s most dense ecosystem of life sciences companies and intellectual capital — as well as invaluable proximity to both UCSF and Stanford University — it’s not surprising that this San Francisco submarket has maintained a near 0% vacancy rate across the local life sciences real estate segment.
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