Bristol Myers Squibb Takes 427 KSF at San Diego Campus

Alexandria Point. Image courtesy of Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc.

Top 10 pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb has signed a long-term prelease for a 427,000-square-foot building at Alexandria Point, a development by Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. in San Diego’s University Town Center submarket, the developer announced Wednesday.

Alexandria and BMS have been strategic partners since 1998, and this lease reportedly is the second-largest life science lease in Alexandria’s history.

Rupert Vessey, BMS executive vice president for research and early development, noted in a prepared statement that the facility will let the pharma company bring its teams from across San Diego onto a single campus.

When completed, Alexandria Point will encompass more than 2 million square feet of lab and office space, as well as 100,000 square feet of amenities.

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These will include an organic eatery, a wellness and fitness center, conference space, expansive green space, an on-site garden, a large event lawn and a conferencing center that can accommodate up to 800 people. A full-court gymnasium, additional dining options and a rooftop deck with views of the surrounding mountains will also be added to the campus.

In the prepared statement, Daniel Ryan, Alexandria’s co-chief investment officer & executive vice president – regional market director for the San Diego region, highlighted the BMS building’s planned five-story atrium as a key facet of the design’s emphasis on open space and natural light.

The building is being aimed at LEED Gold certification, and Alexandria reportedly is working with the regional government to improve traffic flow and implement sustainable transportation options, including an autonomous shuttle service to the recently completed San Diego Trolley line and regional Coaster rail line.

A lively sector

As of the end of 2021, Alexandria’s assets in the San Diego market totaled about 13 million rentable square feet, including properties under construction or in redevelopment.

For the last few years, demand for life science space has exceeded supply in the San Diego market, despite the market totaling almost 19 million square feet, according to a first-quarter report from Colliers. That’s driving nearly 3.5 million square feet of new construction or renovations, along with a further 2.2 million square feet having been proposed.

Meanwhile, overall vacancy has fallen to 4.5 percent, about half of the figure at the end of 2019, also according to Colliers.

In August 2020, Alexandria acquired The Pointe at Torrey Pines, a 139,135-square-foot, two-building office property in La Jolla, for $97.5 million. The asset seemed well located for repositioning as life science space.