Brandywine, Drexel Top Out Philadelphia Life Science Tower

3151 Market St. is part of the $3.5 billion mixed-use Schuylkill Yards project in University City. Rendering courtesy of Brandywine Realty Trust

Brandywine Realty Trust and Drexel University have topped out 3151 Market, a 435,000-square-foot 14-story life science building and the second of two speculative ground-up buildings in the $3.5 billion, 14-acre Schuylkill Yards mixed-use master plan in Philadelphia’s University City district.

Slated for completion in 2024, the tower at 3151 Market St. will have 417,000 square feet of best-in-market lab and office space, 18,000 square feet of retail and amenity space and 6,000 square feet of terrace space.

Designed by Gensler, the building will have 39,000-square-foot floorplates and a flexible 33-foot-by-45-foot structural bay to accommodate a diverse range of life science end users. It will provide substantially higher base building technology and infrastructure than industry and market standards, including higher lab capacity—up to 70 percent lab/30 percent office versus the market standard of a 50–50 split between lab space and office. Other features will include hazardous waste exhaust, chilled and condenser water loops, dedicated trash dock and increased elevator capacity.

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The building is designed to achieve LEED Platinum and WELL Silver certification. Highlights include a shared conference and event center with connected eco-terrace and balconies on alternating floors offering tenants access to fresh air and outdoor space. There will be 75 parking spaces in a subterranean garage.

Construction progress of 3151 Market. Image courtesy of INTECH Construction

Jerry Sweeney, president & CEO of Philadelphia-based Brandywine Realty Trust, said in a prepared statement the amenities are focused on occupant wellbeing to help companies define their cultures and brands and also provide a platform for employee success. He said the partners are providing physical spaces at Schuylkill Yards that will be used by companies as tools to attract and retain talent.

Schuylkill Yards details

Brandywine, in partnership with Gotham Organization, has already completed the first new ground-up building in Schuylkill Yards, which is located just west of Amtrak’s 30th Street Station in University City. 3025 JFK Blvd., a 28-story, mixed-use tower also known as West Tower, has 200,000 square feet of life science and office space, 326 luxury apartments in the Avira portion of the building and 9,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. In September, the law firm Goodwin Procter signed a 12.5-year lease for 31,500 square feet with an option to expand in the building, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. The national firm is leasing the entire eighth floor, the highest in the 200,000-square-foot commercial portion of the building, and part of the seventh floor.

The office portion of the building has large, flexible 29,400-square-foot floorplates with 16-foot ceiling heights, state-of-the-art mechanical and building systems and fresh air intake, filtration and circulation that provide the optimal environment for both lab and collaborative office spaces.

Residents began moving into Avira in August. The commercial and residential tenants have access to a full-floor lifestyle center on the ninth floor featuring a pool and sundeck, cabanas, barbecue areas, great lawn, lounge spaces, co-working lounge and conference and meeting rooms.

At full build-out, Schuylkill Yards will have 6.5 acres of parks, 1.5 million square feet of living space, 3.9 million square feet of life science and office space and 65,000 square feet of retail space. Brandywine has developed more than 4 million square feet on the west banks of the Schuylkill River. Of that total, approximately 1.4 million square feet has been developed or redeveloped within the Schuylkill Yards master-planned area including the 1.3-acre Drexel Square Park, 3000 Market St., 3025 JFK Blvd. and 3151 Market St. It also renovated the historic Bulletin Building at 3025 Market St. into offices and lab space for Spark Therapeutics. The redeveloped two-story building at 3000 Market St. is also leased to Spark Therapeutics, a leader in next-generation gene therapy.

While the first two new towers were spec projects, Sweeney told the Philadelphia Business Journal last month construction will not begin on the planned 800,000-square-foot, 34-story East Tower at 3001 JFK Blvd. until it’s at least 50 percent preleased because of current economic conditions including volatility in interest rates and uncertainty in financing. Plans call for 550,000 square feet of office space and 250,000 square feet of life science space in the tower.