The Crown Estate Expands Oxford Life Sciences Plans With £4.5B Scheme
The Crown Estate has acquired a site in Oxfordshire to support a major life sciences development expected to be worth up to £4.5B.
The Harwell East site, adjacent to the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, could ultimately deliver around 4.5M SF of office, laboratory and advanced manufacturing space, along with up to 400 homes, the Crown Estate said in a statement.
Harwell Science and Innovation Campus is a public-private partnership half-owned by Brookfield Corp. and already hosts more than 200 laboratories, offices and production facilities.
The Crown Estate has previously pledged to invest up to £1.5B in the science, technology and innovation sectors. It is also redeveloping the former Debenhams department store site in Oxford city centre with Oxford Science Enterprises, aiming to create additional laboratory space.
The plans are another major boost for life sciences in the city. Oxford’s property market is set for an influx of new laboratory and office space, equivalent to around 13% of existing stock, according to advisor Bidwells. The largest of these schemes, the Daubney Project at Oxford Science Park, will deliver some 450K SF across three buildings and is scheduled for completion next year.
In addition, the Ellison Institute of Technology has announced that it is to build one of Europe’s largest private research and development campuses at Oxford Science Park.
U.S. billionaire Larry Ellison, who amassed his fortune through co-founding software company Oracle, is investing a further £890M in his namesake technology institute and the site is now set to span 2M SF, up from the previously proposed 300K SF, and to host as many as 7,000 scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs.
Several additional schemes are either under construction or planned, including Breakthrough Properties’ Trinity project, totalling 214K SF and due for completion this December. Mission Street has commenced site works for its 135K SF Fabrica building, and commencement of UBS’ 140K SF Bridge Labs is awaited.
