The more than $625 million acquisition of the Flatiron Business Park in greater Denver area was the largest single-asset sale in Colorado's commercial real estate history, but it's the new owner's plans to overhaul the property into a vibrant life science campus that will prove transformative for the region.
National life science developer BioMed Realty's deal to purchase the Flatiron Business Park in Boulder, Colorado, underscores mounting demand in the Denver area for lab and research space among tenants and investors alike, helping it earn a 2023 CoStar Impact Award, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market. BioMed, the biotech arm of investment giant Blackstone, plans to invest another $200 million in redevelopment costs over the next few years into Flatiron Park, about 90% of which is already leased to a mix of life science and technology tenants.
Prior to the deal, the 22-building, 1 million-square-foot business campus was primed for a potential buyer interested in converting some of the property's office into lab space. With a track record of experience and a portfolio of successful conversions, BioMed's new stake in the fast-growing Denver life science market is expected to add more momentum to the area's expansion.
"They are the perfect group to take this project to the next level, which will ultimately benefit the rising life science ecosystem in Colorado," said the JLL team that brokered the deal on behalf of the sellers, a joint venture among Crescent Real Estate Equities, Goldman Sachs and Lionstone Partners.
About the project: BioMed plans to use the late 1990s-era business park to anchor its presence in the Colorado life science market by converting some of the older office space into high-end life science space. The developer said the region, which houses one of the most highly educated workforces in the country, and its proximity to universities, research institutions and leading venture capital firms makes it a natural hub for the firm's existing and prospective tenant roster.
What the judges said: "The Flatiron Business Park’s design, existing roster of life science tenants and proximity to labor and education resources proved to be an incredible investment opportunity for BioMed Realty," said CoStar Impact Awards Judge and JP Morgan Chase Executive Director Sara Croot. "The transaction further elevated the reputation of the Boulder market as a legitimate burgeoning life science market."
They made it happen: JLL's Mark Katz, Peter Merrion and Hilary Barnett represented the seller.
