Eli Lilly Startup Incubator Coming To Market West: The Philadelphia Deal Sheet
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has teamed up with Breakthrough Properties to build out a new incubator lab space in Center City.
The 44K SF Lilly Gateway Labs at Breakthrough will feature move-in-ready research and development spaces for startups. They will come equipped with cold storage, centrifuges and autoclaves, according to a press release.
The lab space is expected to house between six and eight companies, none of which have been identified at this time, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Lilly, which has four similar incubators in other U.S. biomedical hubs, plans to have firms move in as soon as Q1 2026.
It is part of a 225K SF project at 2300 Market St. developed by Breakthrough, which is a joint venture between Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital. The building opened earlier this year, and its first tenant, Legend Biotech, opened last week in a 31K SF space.
SALES
Conshohocken-based Morgan Properties has added 3,300 units to its nationwide portfolio with the $345M acquisition of Dream Residential REIT, a publicly traded Canadian company. The apartments are located in 15 properties across Texas, Ohio, Kentucky and Oklahoma.
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A restaurant space housing a Burger King at 411 Oregon Ave. in South Philadelphia sold for $2.1M. New Jersey-based BK Penn Properties LLC acquired it from 411 Philadelphia LLC, which shares a mailing address with Miami-based Frontier Cos.
Julius Swolsky and Shannon Bona of CrownPoint Partners represented the buyer and the seller.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
MCB Science + Health has finished developing the Drexeline Medical Office Building, a 60K SF facility in the Drexel Hill section of Upper Darby Township. The project at 5100 State Road is fully leased to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Delaware County Human Services.
LEASES
Velocity Venture Partners has closed three new leases totaling more than 36K SF at 242 Delsea Drive in Washington Township, New Jersey.
Powerhouse Sports Arena has taken 17.6K SF for an indoor training facility. A Cheerful Giver Candles leased 13.8K SF for warehousing and production. The Restoration Place, a church, is renting 4.8K SF for services and workforce training.
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Capital Health has inked a long-term lease renewal for its 14K SF space at 540 Woodbourne Road in Langhorne. Avison Young broker Scott Martin helped coordinate the deal.