BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE: BXP), the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of Class A office properties in the United States, announced today that it has agreed to purchase the Shady Grove Bio+Tech Campus in Rockville, Maryland. The property includes seven existing buildings comprising approximately 435,000 square feet across 31 acres in the Shady Grove life sciences cluster, a highly desirable location for leading and emerging companies in the biotechnology sector.
The Company plans to convert the office buildings on the campus to lab to meet current and growing demand in the region from biotechnology companies for new, Class A lab space. The Company expects to begin reconstruction of three of the buildings, which are currently vacant, promptly after closing, which is currently expected to occur in Q3 2021. The Company intends to redevelop or convert the remaining four buildings to lab or life sciences-related uses as each becomes vacant. The gross purchase price for the property is $116.5 million. BXP will own 100% of the campus.
This acquisition builds on BXP’s growing Life Sciences portfolio, which consists of more than 3 million square feet of in-service properties and approximately 1 million square feet of lab development and redevelopment projects that are currently under construction and expected to deliver in the next 36 months. The BXP portfolio also includes approximately 5 million square feet of development opportunities focused on the specific needs of the life sciences sector primarily in Boston, Cambridge, and Waltham/Lexington, Massachusetts, San Francisco, California and now Montgomery County, Maryland.
The Shady Grove Bio+Tech Campus is located in the City of Rockville and is surrounded by the premier cluster for life sciences in Maryland. The campus is situated within a half mile of I-270 with convenient access to MD-355 and other regional arteries. The Montgomery County, Maryland submarket is consistently ranked as one of the top five life sciences clusters in the U.S. and is the epicenter of national public health research and regulatory leadership, hosting the headquarters of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), US Pharmacopeia, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The area is also supported by several active biotech incubators, both public and private, that accelerate companies and their research. The region is home to more than 400 emerging and established biotechnology and life sciences companies. Top universities in the region, including Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland System, produce STEM graduates at a rate that is on par with the regions surrounding other top biotech innovation clusters in the U.S.
“Suburban Maryland benefits from existing dynamics that provide a strong foundation for growth in the life science industry. Growing demand, combined with limited supply, make Montgomery County, Maryland, and this cluster in particular, an attractive opportunity for BXP to expand its life sciences presence,” said Pete Otteni, SVP, Co-Head of the Washington, DC Region, BXP. “We look forward to using our life sciences expertise and real estate skills to transform the property into a leading life sciences campus in the region.”
“We are thrilled to expand our BXP Life Sciences portfolio with the acquisition of Shady Grove Bio+Tech Campus, furthering our ability to create great space and place for scientific discovery,” said David Provost, Co-Head of BXP Life Sciences.
The property’s seller, Lantian Development, was represented by Tommy Cleaver, Dan Grimes, and Stuart Kenny of CBRE.
About Boston Properties
Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of Class A office properties in the United States, concentrated in five markets – Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, DC. The Company is a fully integrated real estate company, organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT), that develops, manages, operates, acquires and owns a diverse portfolio of primarily Class A office space. Including properties owned by joint ventures, the Company’s portfolio totals 51.6 million square feet and 196 properties, including nine properties under construction/redevelopment. For more information about Boston Properties, please visit our website at www.bxp.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Instagram.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal securities laws. You can identify these statements by our use of the words “will,” “expects,” “intends” and similar expressions that do not relate to historical matters. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond Boston Properties’ control and could materially affect actual results, performance or achievements. These factors include, without limitation, Boston Properties’ ability to satisfy the closing conditions and/or complete the transaction on the terms currently contemplated or at all, its ability to complete the conversion and redevelopment projects referenced above on time, within budget or at all, and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Boston Properties’ filings with the SEC. Boston Properties does not undertake a duty to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contacts
Sara Buda
Vice President, Investor Relations
sbuda@bxp.com
Laura Sesody
Vice President, Corporate Marketing & Communication
lsesody@bxp.com
