LaSalle Acquires San Diego Life Science Asset

3215 Merryfield Row

LaSalle Investment Management has acquired a Class A life science building in San Diego. The asset was purchased through the firm’s flagship core institutional real estate fund, the LaSalle Property Fund. The majority interest acquisition of 3215 Merryfield Row was purchased by LPF through a joint venture with a publicly traded REIT.

According to CommercialEdge data, the asset totals 170,523 square feet and covers 8 acres of land. The Class A property is 3 stories high and offers a mix of life science and data center office and research space.

The life science building was developed in 2018 and is currently fully leased to Vertex. The asset is LEED Gold Certified and features glass interior walls, a 1,500-square-foot STEM learning lab and an air circulation system that brings 100 percent outside air inside the property.

READ ALSO: Life Science Assets Maintain Lasting Appeal

The property is located in the Torrey Pines submarket, where life science assets have an average vacancy rate of approximately 0.3 percent. San Diego houses some 1,300 life science companies with 19.8 million square feet of space. According to a JLL report, employment in the San Diego life science industry has increased some 20 percent over the last five years.

LPF Properties

LPF’s portfolio, after the acquisition of 3215 Merryfield Row, is made up of 13 percent life science and medical office properties. Illumina’s headquarters, another life science investment located in the San Diego area, was partially acquired by LPF in 2019.

This year LaSalle purchased the Bellingham Distribution Center, a 345,000-square-foot logistics asset in the Boston area, through the LPF.