Strong life sciences demand fuels $155M sale of Bay Area property

SAN FRANCISCO, June 15, 2021 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has closed the $155 million sale and $114 million financing of Mt. Eden Research Park, a six-building R&D / life sciences campus totaling 369,986 square feet in Hayward, California.

JLL represented the seller, BentallGreenOak, and procured the buyer, GI Partners. Additionally, JLL placed the acquisition financing through TPG Real Estate.

Mt. Eden Research Park is located along the Central I-880 Corridor at 25801, 25821, 25841, 25861, 25881 and 25901 Industrial Blvd. The 24.75-acre site, at the base of the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, has superior access to the Mid-Peninsula, Silicon Valley and East Bay and benefits from its close proximity to top research universities such as Berkeley and Stanford, as well as the highly educated labor pool in the surrounding area.

The Bay Area is the No. 2 Life Sciences Research Market nationally and boasts one of the densest concentrations of life sciences professionals in the U.S. Tenant demand for life sciences space is outpacing supply and demand drivers such as an aging population and increased focus on health not slowing down, will sustain demand for the foreseeable future.

Mt. Eden presented a rare life sciences conversion opportunity with 54% of the 81%-leased property already occupied by biotechnology tenants, Illumina and RefleXion Medical. Completed between 1999 and 2001, the one- and two-story buildings feature eight roll-up doors and loading docks, 16’ to 22’ clear heights and parking for approximately 1,214 vehicles.

The JLL Capital Markets team representing the seller was led by Senior Managing Directors Will Connors, Rob Hielscher and Michael Leggett, Managing Director Adam Lasoff, Senior Directors Erik Hanson, Daniel Renz and David Dokko and Director Michael Manas.

“The amount of interest we received in Mt. Eden was truly astounding,” Hielscher stated. “Life sciences is currently one of the most in favor asset classes, and, with limited product available the properties that do come to market are receiving record pricing and interest from the investment community.”

The JLL debt placement team handling the acquisition financing efforts was led by Executive Managing Director Kevin MacKenzie, Senior Managing Director Bruce Ganong, Managing Director Brian Torp and Associate Taylor Gimian.

MacKenzie added, “Following a similar trend to the equity market, debt capital is highly competitive for life sciences product. Through running a competitive process on behalf of a strong sponsor, our team was able to achieve loan terms that far exceeded expectations on leverage and pricing.”

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment advisory, debt placement, equity placement or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,700 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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