Ventas Makes $1B Deal for Life Science Campus

Debra Cafaro

An affiliate of Ventas Inc. has acquired Genesis South San Francisco, a life science campus in the South San Francisco, Calif. The seller, a joint venture of Bain Capital Real Estate and Phase 3 Real Estate Partners, was advised by Eastdil Secured.

Genesis, a 796,572-square-foot campus, features a 21-story tower that ranks as the tallest life science building in the U.S., as well as a neighboring 12-story tower. Completed in 2019, the buildings were designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

Tenants at the portfolio, which is 96 percent leased, include a combination of established and emerging companies: Amunix Pharmaceuticals, Arsenal Biosciences, Corbion, Fluidigm, Pionyr Immunotherapeutics, Sana Biotechnology and Tizona Therapeutics. Genesis’ amenities include conference centers, a 2,245-space parking structure, a fitness center and a yoga studio.

The deal expands Ventas’ life sciences portfolio to 7.3 million square feet, noted Ventas CEO Debra Cafaro, in a statement released late Thursday. Additional Ventas-owned life science properties are located in Cambridge, Mass., and on the campuses of 15 research universities. Another 1.5 million square feet is under development on the campuses of Arizona State University, Drexel University and the University of Pittsburgh.

Cafaro said in the statement that Ventas Life Science and Healthcare Real Estate Fund L.P., which acquired the campus, has raised more than $1 billion in equity and has assets valued at $1.8 billion under management.

In April 2019, Ventas acquired 1030 Massachusetts Avenue, a life science campus near Cambridge’s Harvard Square, from the Bain Real Estate Capital-Phase 3 Real Estate Partners joint venture. That property traded for $128 million.