Bain Capital JV Buys Suburban Boston Site For Biomanufacturing Conversion
A joint venture has purchased a former Fujifilm facility in Bedford with plans to convert it into a biomanufacturing plant.
Bain Capital and Botanic Properties acquired a manufacturing building at 45 Crosby Drive and intend to turn the property into a 154K SF biomanufacturing facility, the firms announced Wednesday.
The sale price was $26M, according to property records.
They bought the property from Fujifilm, which acquired the property in 2001 for $2.4M from chemical company BASF Corp., property records show.
Bain and Botanic bought the company through the GenesisM real estate platform they launched together to develop biomanufacturing facilities.
“We developed the strategy for GenesisM to support biomanufacturing tenants struggling with high capital costs, long construction timelines and lack of access to purpose built biomanufacturing space at the right scale for their needs,” Bain Capital partner Joe Marconi said in a statement.
He added that the venture will position 45 Crosby Drive "as a premier destination for biopharmaceutical companies seeking modern, efficient, and flexible manufacturing space.”
The companies didn't name a tenant for the space, but the release said the development would "meet the specialized needs of leading biotech companies." The new buildings would include the flexibility to host multiple tenants.
The property sits on a 15-acre site off Route 3, about 3 miles from the Burlington Mall.
In December, Botanic received approval from Bedford's Planning Board to begin the conversion of the facility, The Bedford Citizen reported. Plans call for renovating the exterior of the building, demolishing a 23K SF portion and adding another 19K SF.
New York-based Botanic was founded in 2016 and focuses on investing and developing life sciences real estate. Boston-based investment firm Bain Capital has been in business for over 40 years but launched its real estate arm seven years ago, and it now owns and operates over 5M SF of life sciences space across its U.S. portfolio.
In February, Bain Capital partner and Head of Real Estate Ryan Cotton told Bisnow the firm was bullish on long-term investment in sectors with positive demand drivers like life sciences. He said the company is focused on properties with small tenants and maintained that the sector is still attractive although it's going through a correction period.
In recent years, big pharmaceutical companies have made massive investments in the reshoring and expansion of their U.S. manufacturing. Eli Lilly, Pfizer and AstraZeneca have announced plans to spend billions to bring new manufacturing facilities to the country.
However, the sector is going through a slowdown, with many life sciences companies focused on the science rather than expanding their real estate footprints. The Trump administration's cuts to federal health agencies and grant funding pose a risk to the life sciences sector, but its tariff policies could boost the demand for biomanufacturing in the U.S.
