A recent purchase of a life sciences center in Los Angeles County has underscored the growth in LA life sciences real estate.

Cantor Fitzgerald paid $92M for Boston Scientific's Neuromodulation Headquarters in Santa Clarita, California, just northwest of LA, in a deal announced last week. The price seller Oaktree Capital Management commanded, and brokerage Newmark arranged, comes in at $510 per SF, a local record and a symbol of the growing demand for life sciences space in Southern California.

Custom built in 2006 as part of the 15-building Southern California Innovation Park, the 180K SF, two-story life sciences building was upgraded in 2017 with an innovation lab and additional tenant improvements.

The sale comes during significant growth in the Greater LA life sciences market, attractive and affordable compared to in-state heavyweights San Diego and San Francisco.

Newmark research found the vacancy rate locally was 5% in Q1 2021, and a recent CBRE report noted that “increasing developer interest, an influx of venture capital investment ... and home-grown STEM talent” have led to increased tenant demand of 500K SF in LA in early 2021.