Biotech giant Amgen’s decision to close down its waterfront campus in Seattle isn’t stopping one real estate company from forging ahead with a new biotech lab and office building — billed as the first new biotech construction of its kind in Seattle in five years.
Real estate company BioMed Realty plans to break ground this Wednesday on the new 122,000-square foot building, at 500 Fairview Ave. in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood.
Combined with BioMed’s existing building at 530 Fairview Ave., the new construction will create a 223,000 square foot biotech hub called the BioMed Realty Research Center, offering 24/7 uptime for biotech and life sciences research.
The project underscores the South Lake Union neighborhood’s role as a biotech center, in addition to serving as the home of Amazon.com.
BioMed says it is seeing continued strength in Seattle as a life sciences market. The new building is getting strong interest from BioMed’s existing tenants, in addition to new companies spinning out of research institutions including the nearby Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington.
More details on the new building’s initial tenants are expected later this week.
