The expanding life sciences cluster in Downtown San Diego nabbed a new lab lease, according to the brokerage that represented the landlord.
JLL (JLL) announced that AnaBios will move into about 20,000 square feet at the eight-story Class A life sciences building owned by Phase 3 Real Estate Partners. The space will be used for drug discovery and research translational services based on human tissue and cells, including heart and lung, according to an announcement. Rental rates were not immediately disclosed.
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The 200,000-square-foot building named Genesis-San Diego will be 50 percent leased after AnaBios joins neighboring tenants Novoron Bioscience, Excellos and Native Microbials. Phase 3 completed the conversion project at 1155 Island Avenue with Barings and Bain Capital Real Estate in mid-2022.
“We believe that being located in Downtown San Diego near other life sciences firms, the Convention Center and the airport will provide a key catalyst for our growth,” Andre Ghetti, founder and CEO at AnaBios, said in a statement.
JLL’s Chad Urie, Grant Schoneman and Taylor DeBerry represented the landlord in the lease, and said Phase 3’s portfolio consists of nearly 4.5 million square feet in San Diego, San Francisco and Boston. Newmark (NMRK)’s Jon Engle and John Hundley represented AnaBios.
Lab vacancy rates rose again in San Diego to end 2023, and asking rents declined even though there was more leasing activity, according to JLL’s most recent market report. Demand appears to be rising, but the countywide vacancy rate increased to 12.4 percent and is expected to continue rising as an overflowing development pipeline unravels.
Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.
