Mark Zuckerberg Foundation Inks 225K-SF Life Sciences Lease With IQHQ in NorCal
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative aims to 'cure, prevent or manage' all diseases by the end of the 21st century
By Nick Trombola February 19, 2025 8:20 pm
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Mark Zuckerberg is taking a break from expanding the Metaverse to instead expand his real-world foundation’s footprint in Northern California.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), a philanthropic organization founded in 2015 by Zuckerberg and wife Dr. Pricsicilla Chan, has signed a 225,000-square-foot pre-lease in Redwood City, Calif., with IQHQ, a Boston-based developer and owner of life sciences campuses. The foundation has wide-ranging aims of “advanc[ing] human potential and promot[ing] equality in areas such as health, education, scientific research and energy.”
CZI will occupy one of the four buildings at the Elco Yards development, a 670,000-square-foot project at 1601 El Camino Real in Redwood City. Once completed in phases between summer 2025 and 2026, the development will offer lab, retail and office space. CZI is expected to move into its new digs there in 2027, per IQHQ. Cushman & Wakefield (CWK)’s Ben Paul is handling lab and office leasing efforts, and The Econic Company’s James Chung and Mike Conroy are handling retail leasing.
CZI plans to use the space to support its biomedical research efforts, Marc Malandro, chief operating officer, said in a statement. The organization, funded by 99 percent of Zuckerberg and Chan’s Facebook shares over their lifetime, has the ambitious goal to “cure, prevent or manage” all diseases by the end of this century. CZI’s headquarters and “community space,” which provides free meeting and event space for other nonprofit organizations, are also in Redwood City.
“Redwood City is CZI’s long-standing home, and we’re proud to continue investing in this vibrant community while driving collaboration and innovation in the heart of the Bay Area,” Malandro added.
The new Redwood City deal isn’t the only life sciences lease that Zuckerberg’s organization has landed in recent months. In October, CZI signed a nearly 38,000-square-foot lease with Columbia University for the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub New York, a $300 million biomedical lab in Manhattan where scientists at Columbia, Yale and The Rockefeller University will be able to collaborate on research projects.
Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.
