A beleaguered life sciences developer has notched a major victory in the suburbs of Boston.
:no_upscale():quality(75))
Clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company AdvanCell signed a long-term, 128K SF lease at San Diego-based IQHQ's 1 Corporate Drive in Andover, the company announced Monday. The lease brings the second phase of the life sciences developer's Innovation Park campus to full occupancy.
In total, Innovation Park comprises 340K SF in advanced manufacturing and life sciences space.
IQHQ acquired the campus in 2020 for $44M, according to public deed records. Since its acquisition, the developer has renovated the property with common area improvements and amenities such as a café and fitness center.
AdvanCell will join Generate Biomedicines, which signed a 75K SF lease renewal at 4 Corporate Drive in 2021. The company completed a $400M initial public offering in February.
Around the same time, Cambridge-based cancer startup Oncorus signed an 88K SF lease at the campus, but two years later, the company liquidated the business and laid off all employees.
The developer still has 137K SF available on the campus at 4 Corporate Drive, which is being offered as a turnkey manufacturing facility.
AdvanCell's lease is a bright spot for the slowly recovering Greater Boston life sciences market. Few large leases have been signed amid a slowdown in research funding, even as millions of square feet have been built in recent years. Availability has stood at 34.7% over the last two quarters, according to CBRE.
With high availability rates and a lack of new tenants in the market, the glut of life sciences supply has left many buildings empty, with more distress set to come.
The deal is a major accomplishment for IQHQ, which was formed in 2020 as the life sciences market began catching fire through the pandemic and lab tenants were desperate to find suitable space in and around Kendall Square.
IQHQ has faced several hurdles over the last couple of years, with investors losing confidence amid the challenging market.
As of March, six registered funds with $707M invested in the REIT marked down their positions due to the lab slowdown, Bisnow previously reported. Multifamily REIT Aimco sued IQHQ to reclaim its $50M investment in the multifamily component of a proposed development, citing "failed promises."
IQHQ borrowed $270M from a cannabis REIT in August, less than a year after it raised $900M in equity.
The developer halted its $1B Fenway Center air rights project in Boston in November. It had been sued by a contractor on the project for more than $27M in alleged missed payments.
IQHQ is still one of the largest life sciences developers in the country, with a portfolio of 3.6M SF, including the 762K SF Alewife Park in Cambridge and the 1.7M SF Research and Development District campus in San Diego.
