CBRE Investment Management Buys Life Science Campus for $288M

Park Point. Image courtesy of CBRE Investment Management

CBRE Investment Management continues adding to its life science holdings with the purchase of Park Point, a 662,607-square-foot life science campus at Research Triangle Park in Durham, N.C., on behalf of a separate account client. Starwood Capital Group sold the five-building, 95-acre campus to the global real assets investment management firm for $288.1 million, public records show.

An affiliate of Starwood Capital Group and its partners Trinity Capital Advisors and Vanderbilt Partners acquired Park Point for $37 million in July 2019. The site had been vacant since 2016 when the former prime tenant, Nortel Networks, left after declaring bankruptcy. The joint venture spent more than $120 million renovating the property, which reopened in 2021 and offers flexible space solutions for innovative office, life science and good manufacturing practice uses. The property is also entitled for an additional 2.2 million square feet of development.

Amenities at the campus located at 4001 NC Highway 54 include a fitness center, café, indoor/outdoor common areas, athletic fields, walking trails, 2,546 parking spaces and a conference and training center. Park Point also has new, efficient systems that reduce energy and water consumption and enhance air quality. Electric vehicle charging stations will be installed at the property.

The Class A property aligns with the firm’s commitment to invest in life science assets as the demand for modern, responsive life science properties remains strong to provide specialized, customizable spaces required for scientific research.

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Sondra Wenger, head of Americas Commercial Operator Division for CBRE Investment Management, said in a prepared statement life science end-users have very specific and sophisticated needs for lab and research space and they believe Park Point meets those needs and fits well with the firm’s investment strategy.

Wenger pointed to the property’s location at Raleigh-Durham’s Research Triangle Park as an asset because of its solid economic fundamentals. The Research Triangle attracts a strong base of scientific talent and is located near leading education and medical institutions. She also highlighted Park Point’s features including shared space, flexibility, technology and wellness options. Park Point has easy access to Interstate 40, N.C. Highway 54 and Davis Drive. Raleigh-Durham International Airport is within 5 miles of the Durham campus.

Tenants include Charles River Laboratories, which signed a 70,369-square-foot lease with the former owners in January 2021 to occupy the first and second floors at the three-story Edge West building. GRAIL Inc. leases 200,000 square feet and is working on an early cancer detection platform. Restor3d, a medical equipment manufacturing company, is slated to take 50,225 square feet between the Edge West building and Grid building starting in early 2023, according to the Triangle Business Journal.

Earlier life science deals

CBRE Investment Management, formerly known as CBRE Global Investors, had $146.9 billion in assets under management as of June 30. In July, a joint venture between a fund sponsored by CBRE IM and a public REIT acquired 300 Third St., a 132,000-square-life science property in Cambridge, Mass., from Alexandria Real Estate Equities. CBRE IM is the majority owner of the property that comprises a six-story building with lab and office space, and a restaurant. The property is fully leased to Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and the retail space is occupied by Fuji at Kendall, a sushi restaurant. It was the second life science property investment in the market within three months. In April, CBRE IM acquired an equity stake in a 432,931-square-foot building at 100 Binney St., also from Alexandria Real Estate Equities.