Sterling Bay Sues To Boot BioLabs From Its Lincoln Park Property

An affiliate of prominent Chicago developer Sterling Bay filed a lawsuit to evict BioLabs from a Lincoln Park building and is asking a Cook County judge for more than $2.7M in damages, claiming the life sciences incubator defaulted on its security deposit and failed to pay any rent.

Massachusetts-based BioLabs agreed to lease about 30K SF at 2430 N. Halsted St. in 2021.

But last May, Sterling Bay told the life sciences tenant it had defaulted on the lease by failing to put up a $250K portion of its security deposit, The Real Deal reports. BioLabs had committed to pay nearly $1.5M in the first year of its lease, with the rate bumping up to over $1.9M in the 10th and final year of the deal, according to TRD. 

Sterling Bay agreed to reduce a portion of BioLabs’ rent at the beginning of the lease, TRD reports. Now, due to BioLabs’ alleged default, Sterling Bay claims it is owed not only the originally abated rent but also additional fees, totaling in a claim of over $2.7M.

“We’re certainly disappointed on our end,” BioLabs Chief Operating Officer Peter Shanley told TRD. “We signed a lease under the assumption that there would be a larger partnership together, and Sterling Bay was not able to follow through on that.”

A Sterling Bay spokesperson told Bisnow in a statement that it “met all its obligations under the lease, including providing an extensive and expensive build-out for BioLabs.”

The spokesperson claimed Biolabs failed to honor its obligations under the lease, “never moving in or paying a day's worth of rent, leaving Landlord no choice but to file for eviction and resolve the matter in court.”

2430 N. Halsted St. has over 125K SF of flexible lab space, 55 on-site parking spots and easy access to area hospitals, according to promotional copy on the building’s website. The building was 80% leased as of November, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, though the publication did not state whether BioLabs’ space was included in that figure.