BioMed Closes $1.3B Refinancing For Cambridge Portfolio

BioMed Realty, one of the largest lab owners in Cambridge, landed a major refinancing deal for its Cambridgeport campus in Kendall Square.

38 Sidney St. In Kendall Square

The Blackstone-owned company closed a $1.32B refinancing package for its 1.3M SF University Park at MIT campus adjacent to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to a Fitch Ratings report released Monday.

The refinancing comes after the landlord spent over $305M of its own equity for an extension of MIT’s ground lease of the campus.

The debt was originated by JPMorgan Chase Bank, German American Capital Corp., Goldman Sachs and Société Générale, according to Fitch. The loan matures in 2035.

The loan will be used to pay an existing loan, with the remaining money for prepayment and extension of its ground lease, closing costs and upfront reserves.

A BioMed spokesperson said in a statement to Bisnow the refinancing deal shows the appeal of the campus "that is uniquely positioned within one of the deepest research clusters in the world.

"University Park at MIT has a strong history of offering a diversity of solutions to the rapidly growing innovation sector, including biotech, AI, robotics, cleantech, and beyond," the spokesperson said.

The loan's collateral consists of eight properties on Sidney and Landsdowne streets that BioMed owns through a ground lease with MIT. The portfolio is 96% occupied, according to Fitch, with nearly all of the buildings being fully leased and one building at 38 Sidney St. being 56% leased.

It has 12 tenants, including Takeda, which leases roughly 37% of the portfolio, and Agios Pharmaceuticals, which takes up 201K SF across multiple buildings expiring in 2028.

Blackstone acquired BioMed in 2016. It became one of the largest Cambridge life sciences landlords in 2021 when it acquired a 2.3M SF lab campus for $3.5B from Brookfield Asset Management.

BioMed has been active in Cambridge in recent years, even as the life sciences sector has struggled.

In October, BioMed acquired 730-750 Main St. in Cambridge for $361.5M. The building is home to MIT spinout The Engine, a venture capital and investment firm.

In April, Blackstone and BioMed proposed an office-to-lab conversion at 350 Massachusetts Ave. A month later, Biogen signed a 585K SF headquarters lease at BioMed's 75 Broadway St.

The firm's latest loan joins another major life sciences refinancing deal that closed this month: Newton-based The RMR Group secured a $1B loan for its 1.1M SF Fan Pier lab campus in the Seaport. The campus is leased to Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

CORRECTION, AUG. 15, 11:30 A.M. ET: A previous version of this story misstated the total of BioMed’s refinancing package to include $305M in equity from a previous deal. The story has been updated.

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