Longfellow Secures $500M Life Sciences Fund From CalSTRS: Updated
By Greg Cornfield March 15, 2022 7:05 pm
reprints
UPDATED: Longfellow Real Estate Partners, one of the most active life sciences development firms in the nation, is walking around with an extra $500 million in financing thanks to the second-largest pension fund in the country.
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) committed the funding to develop life sciences real estate assets in the country, according to a recent real estate activity report from CalSTRS. Representatives for Longfellow were not immediately available for comment. It’s the first partnership between CalSTRS and Longfellow, according to The Registry.
A CalSTRS spokesperson said the fund has identified certain areas for growth in the next few years in real estate and health care properties.
“We are the fifth-largest owner of real estate life sciences lab space in the U.S., and we will continue to focus on that area,” the spokesperson said in an email to Commercial Observer. “We believe the approximately 140 million square feet of lab space will double over the next decade due to the aging population and growing health care needs.”
National investment in life sciences research and development facilities surged in 2021, increasing 62 percent over the total from 2020, according to a report by CBRE. Longfellow is active in major hubs and submarkets throughout the country. In December 2021, the Boston-based firm made its first investment in New York when it paid $95 million for a majority equity interest in a 200,000-square-foot building in Long Island City, Queens.
Other examples of Longfellow’s investments from last year include agreeing to pay $315.4 million for a 371,281-square-foot office portfolio in San Diego, which is being converted into a life sciences campus, and securing $178 million to buy San Mateo Bay Center near San Francisco for a life sciences conversion.
Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.
UPDATE: This story has been updated to include commentary from CalSTRS.
