Opentrons Subleases Space for NYC’s First COVID Testing Lab
By Chava Gourarie September 16, 2020 3:01 pm
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Biotech firm Opentrons has subleased a space in the Alexandria Center for Life Science to operate New York City’s new COVID testing lab, Commercial Observer has learned.
The facility, called the Pandemic Response Lab, will provide the city with its own coronavirus testing lab in Manhattan, vastly expanding the city’s testing capacity and accelerating response times, as the city moves into its next stage of reopening, the New York Times first reported.
Opentrons subleased a 30,000-square-foot space on the 12th floor of the life science tower, located at 430 East 29th Street, between First Avenue and the FDR, according to information from Cushman & Wakefield, which brokered the deal on behalf of Opentrons.
The testing facility, which will be Opentrons’ first space in Manhattan, is expected to process up to 40,000 tests a day, but will start with several thousand. New York City currently tests roughly 200,000 people a week, according to the Times, but backlogs at existing laboratories have led to two- to three-week response times, as they struggle to process tests from across the country too.
William Hartman, Michael Baraldi and James Gale of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant. It was not immediately clear who represented the sublessor, which is anchor tenant Eli Lilly and Company, according to a source familiar with the deal.
The Alexandria Center is a two-tower research campus developed by Alexandria Real Estate Equities, and includes 728,000 square feet of commercial life science space. Alexandria is currently developing a third building on an adjacent site. Other tenants at the property include Pfizer’s Center for Therapeutic Innovation, NYU Langone, Petra Pharma and Roche.
