At eight stories and with 203,000 square feet, Genesis-San Diego is slated to be completed later this year.
level buildings rising above the city center and along its coast were bustling with more traditional “old economy” businesses and services. Now, however, with the advent of “new economy” thinking, investment and development, San Diego’s city core is poised to redefine itself as a model of 21st century economics and lifestyle. Why life science? The push for life sciences as a subclass of the U.S. economy isn’t new — life sciences research and development have taken root in greater numbers of American cities over the past decade. Perhaps the single-largest contributing factor to the explosive growth of life sciences is this country’s increasingly aging population, and the demands it creates for greater advances in healthcare. Couple
that with a timely shift to an economy that’s based on innovative and technologically advanced healthcare tools, medications and treatments, and we can better understand transformations such as the one San Diego is undergoing.
Biotech history Life science-oriented
businesses and institutions have been thriving in San
Diego for more than three decades. This is partly due to such iconic facilities as the public research institute at the University of California, San Diego, and the Scripps Research Institute in Torrey Pines. Adding to these are hundreds of smaller biotech companies that dot the suburbs and outlying areas of the city. But several factors — including the lack of new, leasable inventory in the suburbs and the increasingly difficult accessibility issues these high-traffic areas cause — have, in the past three years or so, ushered in a new real-estate-focused demand for space in San Diego’s celebrated downtown. The city core has become a new hub for these highly innovative industry niches. And, importantly, downtown was ripe for the type of new development (and redevelopment of existing structures) that these industry investors were seeking. At the end of 2021, the city’s office market, which includes downtown and uptown, had a vacancy rate of 20.8%. Downtown transformed Christina Bibler, economic development director at the City of San Diego, has been involved in city planning and development for the past six years. She offers some perspective on the downtown transformation. “There’s been this ‘awakening,’ if I can call it that,” she says. “It’s simply a case of people wanting to be centrally located in their work environment, and not spend their entire day on the road. [Because of
this] a lot of life science/biotech companies see the convenience of doing business in San Diego. Add to that the cross-border connection [with Mexico], which bodes well for these companies that do business in the city. It amounts to what I might call the ‘make-sense market,’ and that’s why we’re seeing a million-plus square feet of development underway.” The influx of real estate projects that are seeking life science tenants has created something of a domino effect in the city center. At the end of last year, San Diego had eight new-construction lab projects underway. In fact, about 5% of the city’s existing office supply is set to be redeveloped into lab space, according to a spokesperson for Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., an international commercial real- estate firm that specializes in life-sciences brokerage. “When you look at the growth trajectory for tech and life science here in San Diego, well, it’s really pretty staggering,” Bibler says. Capital funding Staggering, indeed. Connect.org, a tech accelerator organization whose website tracks and compiles venture capital funding news for San Diego, reports that last year alone, San Diego County startups raised more than $9 billion in funding capital, much of it earmarked for life sciences and biotech. Matt Kroe, a capital funding manager for Connect, says the explosion of new startups and the money to fund them is really off the charts.
“When you look at the growth trajectory for tech and life science here in San Diego, well, it’s really pretty staggering.” Christina Bibler Economic Development Director, City of San Diego
“It sometimes feels repetitive, with each of these reports announcing a new record high, but it’s important to continue to celebrate these wins for our region,” he notes. “Just six years ago, San Diego County was struggling to break $1 billion in annual venture funding. In 2021, we hit $9 billion.” Three such life sciences-aimed projects currently underway can be regarded as flagship undertakings, due to their size, scope and vision. They include Genesis-San Diego, The Campus at Horton, and the IQHQ Research and Development District. Genesis-San Diego The real estate project nearest completion among the three is located at 1155 Island Ave., where an eight-story, 203,000-square-foot office space is being converted to a premier, class-A life science development building. Under the aegis and guidance of Genesis-San Diego, the ambitious project will offer the scientific community with what is being termed “the most modern and cutting-edge facilities
20
calbanktrust.com/ inyourcorner
21
IN YOUR CORNER ISSUE 11 | 2022
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker