PHILADELPHIA– Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN) in partnership with the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC), announced B.Labs—a Life Science incubator at Cira Centre directly adjacent to Brandywine’s 14 acre $3.5 billion Schuylkill Yards neighborhood in University City, Philadelphia. B.Labs will provide high quality innovation, collaboration, and research space that creates growth capacity for start-up, early-stage, fast-growing, and established Life Science industry leaders. Capitalizing on University City’s intense demand for flexible, plug & play lab and research space, the 50,000 SF B.Labs will commence construction immediately with an opening date scheduled in the fourth quarter of 2021.
“Recognizing the potential of Philadelphia’s rapidly expanding Life Science ecosystem, B.Labs will help accelerate the city’s fast-growing Life Science sector within our Schuylkill Yards neighborhood. The catalyst for our incubator was the ever-expanding, small-scale Life Science users with high growth projections who need space immediately. Partnering with the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center will accelerate establishing a dynamic, flexible community of innovators who can grow their company as they steward their discoveries into commercial offerings,” said Jerry Sweeney, President & CEO of Brandywine Realty Trust.
Drawing on the expertise of the Blumberg Institute, Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC) is one of the nation’s most successful life sciences incubators. Located near Doylestown, PABC has served over 200 member companies, and has created more than $2 billion in value. Replicating this model at B.Labs will provide direct access to talent, transit, and the region’s renowned cell & gene therapy and health care epicenter. As the newest incubator in the city, B.Labs will feature newly-constructed premier lab space with the latest equipment and technology.
“We have a proven blueprint for success, and partnering with the visionary team at Brandywine will allow us to implement our formula in an exciting new venue in the heart of a vibrant city,” said Louis P. Kassa, MPA, Executive Vice President and COO of the PABC and the Blumberg Institute. “We have developed a unique platform that is efficient, effective, nimble and mission-driven. Our goal is to apply our model in a manner that fits the unique needs of Philadelphia’s life sciences companies. Along with the customized services and infrastructure a company requires, we offer our members a network of entrepreneurial scientists and business leaders in the life sciences, as well as firms in associated sectors such as marketing and legal/regulatory affairs. We also provide grant-writing assistance and introductions to venture capital and other funding opportunities.”
Located within both a Federal Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) and a Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ), Cira Centre is directly connected to Amtrak’s 30th Street Station offering a central solution for attracting city and suburban talent. Proximity to the train and the International Airport allow for seamless connection to neighboring innovation clusters in Boston and New York, and across the globe. Steps from mass transit and major roadways, this location is among the best connected and most accessible in the country, while access to the neighboring Schuylkill River Trail, Drexel Square, and Cira Green deliver an unmatched quality of life. Companies can draw top talent from Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and a number of other world-class healthcare and academic institutions.
As Philadelphia continues to grow as one of the world’s top Life Science clusters, B.Labs is Brandywine’s most recent investment in the long-term innovation cycle and ecosystem that is critical to the region’s continued growth in this sector. In 2020, Brandywine announced 3 million square feet of lab and research space from the ground-up within its master planned Schuylkill Yards neighborhood, and an additional 1M SF in the greater Philadelphia region, with plans to announce additional commitments in its other core markets of Austin, TX and Metro D.C.
