McCord Eyes Major Houston Life Science Campus

An aerial rendering of BioHub Two. Image courtesy of McCord Development

McCord Development has unveiled plans for the construction of BioHub Two, a speculative 45-acre, 500,000-square-foot biomanufacturing campus in northeast Houston. The firm has completed $30 million in infrastructure installations and land conversions for the campus’ construction, which is expected to begin as soon as at least a tenant is secured, according to the Houston Chronicle.

BioHub Two is a component of the Generation Park master plan, a 4,300-acre mixed-use commercial and multifamily development that will include a 101,000-square-foot medical office building, an 85,526-square-foot office building, an industrial park, 95,000 square feet of retail and a 251-unit luxury community, among others. In terms of size, the project is one of the largest mixed-use developments in the world.

The future life science campus

A rendering of San Jacinto College’s Generation Park campus. Image courtesy of McCord Development

BioHub Two will take shape near the San Jacinto College Biotechnology Center, a 10-building manufacturing and research training campus operated by San Jacinto College in partnership with the National Institute of Biotechnology Research and Training.

The life science campus will comprise five development sites connected through The Commons, a 5-acre central courtyard, and house cGMP-compliant biomanufacturing laboratories, as well as research and office space. Medicine giant Amgen had previously been interested in leasing the campus and partnering in its development, but instead opted for space in North Carolina’s Research Triangle, the Houston Chronicle article states.

At full build-out, BioHub Two will include:

• Site 1, a 75,000-square-foot facility, to be built on approximately 8.5 acres
• Site 2, which will house an 105,000-square-foot building on 7.1 acres
• Site 3, an 8.1-acre property with the same square footage as Site 2
• Site 4, a 25,000-square-foot facility on an estimated 1.4 acres
• Site 5, which will span three buildings on a 14.1-acre lot.

The campus, the first of its kind in the southwestern United States, will host training programs for students, manufacturing workers and researchers in the biotechnology manufacturing industry. Employees at BioHub Two will have access to the College and NIBRT’s programs at the campus.

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BioHub Two will be adjacent to two planned multifamily communities, with direct linkage to The Ray, Generation Park’s pedestrian highway. Once completed, the campus will be within 20 miles of a population of 7.3 million, and a workforce of 3.3 million.

Located at the intersection of Lockwood Road and Generation Parkway, the site has direct connectivity to Sam Houston Parkway, giving it highway access to much of metro Houston. The city’s largest hospital, Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, is 23 miles to the west, while Rice University is 16 miles in the same direction.

Houston’s life science market heats up

In a recent ranking of life science markets by research talent, conducted by CBRE, Houston occupied the 13th position, standing among the top three fastest-growing markets by graduate holding degrees in related disciplines. Its figures are projected to expand, as the city is home to more than 700 life science companies and to the site of a 6 million-square-foot life science campus being developed by Texas Medical Center.

In March, the Howard Hughes Corp. joined forces with Vitrian for the development of biomanufacturing facilities in The Woodlands, HHC’s master-planned community in Houston. The partnership intends to accommodate the needs of contract development manufacturing organizations, and also cater to companies that focus on in-house manufacturing—from biopharma to industrial biology.