900 KSF Bay Area Life Science Project Moves Forward

The former Pacific Steel Casting plant will be transformed into an R&D campus. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

Plans for the redevelopment of the former Pacific Steel Casting and Berkeley Forge and Tool in Berkeley, Calif., are now moving forward, according to the Berkeleyside. Forge Development acquired 16 land parcels at the property for $48 million and will embark on the construction of a 900,000-square-foot life science campus.

The former plant filed for bankruptcy in 2014 and eventually closed in 2018, while The Berkeley Forge and Tool shut down operations last year. As part of the current transaction, $24 million will be used to fund the pensions of former workers at the plant.

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In previous phases of the project, Rhoades Planning Group filed the rezoning application on behalf of Spur Capital in December 2022 and a pre-application was submitted recently. Now the 16 parcels have become the 10-acre development site of what is currently known as Berkeley Forge.

In February, Perkins&Will drafted the plans for the R&D project that included a partial preservation of some of the existing structures, according to SF YIMBY, while the rest of the buildings will be demolished. Berkeley Forge is expected to break ground two years from now, after the developers receive the plan approval for the current project. The campus is set to encompass eight buildings and will be developed in three phases.

The project will take shape at 640 Gilman St. across four city blocks. The Northwest Berkeley property is 7 miles from downtown Oakland, Calif., and 13 miles from downtown San Francisco via interstates 580 and 80.

Recent Bay Area life science developments

The Bay Area continues to attract life science developments. Several projects emerged in the area in the first half of 2023, currently being in the planning or construction stages.

Longfellow Real Estate Partners broke ground on the 315,000-square-foot Avia Labs at Millbrae Station in Millbrae, Calif. The development will comply with ESG standards and meet the requirements of academic research institutions, as well as biotech companies.

Another R&D facility is taking shape in Redwood City, Calif. The joint venture of Trammell Crow Co. and CBRE Investment Management broke ground last month on a 234,000-square-foot building that is set for completion in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Prologis also announced plans to develop a 550,000-square-foot office and laboratory campus in South San Francisco. At full build-out, the property will comprise two eight and 10-story buildings, alongside a nine-story parking garage.