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Trending Now: New Jersey Life Sciences

By: Brooks Slocum, AIA + Adam Spagnolo

As 2022 races to the finish line, it is important to take a moment to reflect on what we’ve accomplished this year and set our sights on what’s next. At SGA, that involves celebrating innovative projects in the Boston area, unique undertakings in New York City, and setting our sights on New Jersey, which, according to the state’s Economic Development Authority, has been the “medicine chest” to the world for decades.

This established and resurgent market is the backbone between Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania, and is primed for new and updated developments in the Life Sciences industry. SGA CEO Adam Spagnolo and his team are ready to write the next chapter with a thoughtful approach to the creation and design of new Life Sciences facilities across the state. “New Jersey’s existing campus infrastructure offers the potential for an ecosystem that rivals San Francisco’s Silicon Valley and Boston’s 95 corridors,” Spagnolo explains. “The market can service the entire Life Sciences development pipeline ranging from discovery through production and distribution.” He notes that the Princeton area is a perfect example, offering a mix of tenants seeking ultra-speed to-market repositionings that are essentially convert-to-suits.

Unlike the dense urban settings in Cambridge and Manhattan, the state of New Jersey already has the infrastructure to support multi-business new developments and reimagined single-cluster facilities, all within proximity to some of the country’s lead research universities. A prime representation of this innovation is the New Jersey Center of Excellence owned by Thor Equities. This development has been transformed into a multi-tenant cluster for tenants seeking high-tech R&D campuses in a desirable location without the cost-prohibitive commitment of a dedicated, built-to-fit structure.

In addition to being the home of 48 colleges and universities, New Jersey is uniquely positioned to serve as both a talent feeder and a growth accelerator. This is most evident in the integration of Life Sciences centers and amenities into existing college campuses, which not only strengthen the talent pool but also provide added value through modernization and opportunities for income. Universities want their facilities to reflect the building and lab types that students will experience after graduating, while major players are keen on development opportunities that are in close proximity to institutions and will attract tenants.

“The Life Science buildings in the commercial market are designed to be very flexible and university labs have traditionally been more set in their layouts,” shares SGA Principal Brooks Slocum, AIA.  “However, the new structures being built on campuses today have designs that allow for maximum flexibility, more closely matching the overall design flexibility in state-of-the-art life science commercial buildings.”

Although university settings were previously thought of as places where dorm room miracles are born, the maturity of the existing market in New Jersey makes a case for sustained growth rather than venture-backed startups.

One doesn’t have to drive through the sprawling suburbs of the Garden State to appreciate how it has embraced its legacy as one of the largest Pharmaceutical and Biotech markets of the 20th century. With future planning in mind, it is critical for both government officials and developers to re-imagine these existing facilities in order to catch up to the more dynamic Life Sciences markets in Boston, Cambridge, Manhattan, and in nearby Philadelphia. Whereas Philly has honed in on creating infrastructures that support gene and cell therapies, New Jersey has always been the go-to for Big Pharma. So, what will persuade the Life Sciences giants of the 21st century when it comes to choosing their home base?

Take, for example, the new L’Oreal facility in Clark, NJ. The redevelopment of this $140M research and innovation center was brought to fruition by close collaboration with the Union County municipality and Clark Planning Board. Both entities recognized the value of adding a 250,000-square-foot development center focused on Green Sciences and Beauty Tech to their region, which would simultaneously add over 500 highly-skilled jobs. Not only does this demonstrate a mature business’s commitment to innovation and advancement, but also how to effectively partner with and better integrate into the surrounding community.

This illustrates a growing, positive trend of sophisticated developers collaborating with the local municipalities to get their development plans approved. In order to be awarded entitlements in prime areas, savvy developers should be planning flexible facilities that can evolve into different uses throughout the life-cycle of the building. With a strong understanding of what works in both the Cambridge and NYC markets, SGA believes that the leading New Jersey campuses will be those that best accommodate the entire facility pipeline from incubation through manufacturing and distribution.

Whereas locations like Manhattan, Long Island, and even Jersey City are attracting early-stage, tech focus, speed-to-market repositionings, with pre-built graduate or step space, and accelerators, the vast portion of New Jersey is already mature with appropriate life sciences campuses and universities that are ready for expansion and growth of existing businesses. According to the team at SGA, this is very similar to the suburban Boston market. “Princeton reminds us of Watertown, MA,” Spagnolo shares. “It took five years, but SGA’s Linx ignited the initial phase of a tremendously successful suburban sub-cluster in close proximity to a University.” With ample space and opportunity, and the right experience, New Jersey will quickly become the go-to market for developers in this field, attracting new and existing businesses that are eager to evolve.

Understanding Market Maturity: Key to Attracting Tenants in Emerging Life Science Clusters

By: Brooks Slocum + Adam Spagnolo

A surge of private and public funding is redrawing the commercial Life Sciences map.
Whereas biomedical and pharmaceutical innovation has historically clustered in Greater
Boston, San Francisco and the Research Triangle, investments in commercial Life Sciences
facilities have overflown to emerging markets and clusters throughout the nation. A key
consideration to attracting Life Sciences tenants is understanding market maturity and its
impact on the potential facility types needed by growing companies. Owners and
developers are simultaneously looking to SGA to navigate this evolving landscape.
Real estate organizations know to engage SGA early in their life sciences journeys
because there are many subcategories of laboratory— and in this capital-intensive realm,
there is an advantage in making flexible buildings that can accommodate different science
types. It is even more critical to leverage SGA’s expertise because we can predict clearly
what the science will be in an emerging market.

SGA advises investors to understand what the firm refers to as the Market Maturity
Pipeline, which centers on the various facility types tenants in the Life Sciences market
may require, from basic research to corporate headquarters to packaging and distribution.
Market maturity is distinct from company maturity, which is also distinct from product
maturity. The three move independently, though a start-up with a new project can mature
all three at the same time.

Programming distinctions depend on a market’s stage of emergence. Accelerators
and incubators have to come first when a metropolitan area is entirely new to Life
Sciences; SGA often advises real estate organizations to position properties as incubators
and accelerators, which have to come when nurturing local business. These spaces may
require less robust mechanical and structural infrastructure versus more mature facilities
such as cGMP. Understanding the different infrastructure requirements enables an owner
or developer to better market a property that closely aligns with the potential needs of
prospective tenants. There is also an alternate path, which is when a large mega-company
moves into an area previously not involved in biopharma to take advantage of an educated
but untapped potential employee base, either in research or manufacturing.

In a more robust market, where startup companies have progressed to later stages
of R&D, SGA advises clients to embrace the greater infrastructure and specialization that
corresponds to process development and pilot manufacturing. In fact, making a lab space
extremely flexible and adaptable generally means lots of infrastructure to accommodate
anything which might happen, while more specific labs can be built “lighter.” In addition,
SGA has developed techniques for pivoting a building’s program toward office uses—or,
conversely, to heavier R&D uses—as the facility and tenant needs evolve.

Irrespective of location, speculative real estate for Life Sciences companies is itself
emerging. The idea that there are perfectly designed real estate spaces for every single
stage of a company’s Life Sciences journey is a relatively new phenomenon, and it has
enabled companies to spring into existence at a time when discovery and development are
faster than ever. Real estate’s limited track record demands a trusted partner, in turn, and
SGA ensures that facility programming and design correspond to the nuances of any given
market’s maturity.

Maren Reepmeyer Joins SGA as Vice President

Maren Reepmeyer Joins SGA As Vice PresidentBOSTON–SGA – a national, multi-disciplinary firm whose work spans architecture, interior design and master planning for life sciences, academic, mixed-use and commercial clients – today announced that architect and industry leader Maren Reepmeyer, AIA LEED AP has joined the firm as Vice President.

Prior to joining SGA, Ms. Reepmeyer served as Associate Principal and Director of Adaptive Design at Boston architectural firm CBT where she led a practice area focused on adaptive reuse and revitalization.

“We’re excited to welcome Maren as the newest member of our growing team,” said SGA CEO Adam Spagnolo. “Based out of the firm’s Boston headquarters, Maren will focus on strategic development firm-wide.”

“I am thrilled to join SGA’s talented team of designers and visionaries to help develop this extraordinary practice. The art and craft of architectural design is ever-evolving and it’s an exciting time to provide value while pushing sustainability, resiliency, and new trends in process and delivery.”

Ms. Reepmeyer’s portfolio of design work spans mixed-use, commercial, academic, civic, healthcare, and adaptive reuse/strategic revitalization. Her design approach is driven by creative passion, agility and a deep-seeded knowledge of how to transform properties into community-enriching, resilient ecosystems.

Throughout her career spanning more than two decades, Maren has proven time and time again to be a trusted results-driven partner to her clients. She digs deep to understand client objectives up-front, allowing for a streamlined process where goals are achieved and communicated throughout. Maren prides herself in providing tangible value through design while creating strong and lasting bonds.

Ms. Reepmeyer holds a B.A. in Architecture from the University of Minnesota, is the recipient of the Woman of FIRE award bestowed by Banker & Tradesman, and was named a 2014 Top Young Professional – ENR New England awardee. A proven thought leader in the industry, her work related to adaptability in architecture has been published internationally.

Architecture and Interior Design Firm SGA Receives Best of Practice Award from The Architect’s Newspaper

BOSTON & NEW YORK CITY– SGA, an award-winning architecture, design, and master planning firm specializing in life sciences, corporate and academic design, announced that it has received the 2022 “Best of Practice” Award from The Architect’s Newspaper.

Other awards received by SGA so far this year include being an honoree in Boston Business Journal’s “Fast 50” and inclusion in the “Top 100 Giants” by Interior Design Magazine.

“SGA synthesizes their sustainable architecture, design, and planning expertise into a novel building technology framework that accelerates the impact of new innovation on society by means of flexible life science lab facilities that are designed to evolve,” said DK Osseo-Assare, a juror on The Architect’s Newspaper’s 2022 “Best of Practice” Awards and Cofounding Principal of Low Design Office.

“We’re truly honored to receive this award from The Architect’s Newspaper and be recognized by industry peers as a leader in architecture and design,” said John Sullivan, AIA, President of Architecture at SGA.