'You Can Certainly Miss': Developers Launching Into Life Sciences Finding Labs Aren't Easy Money Developer Michael Darby plans to break ground next month on the first life sciences project for his firm, Monument Realty, which has a long history of developing apartment buildings in the D.C. region. At the 135K SF Monument Innovation Center, which Darby is building speculatively along the I-270 life sciences corridor in Maryland, Darby said he’s being a lot more cautious than in his area of expertise, where his track record gives him confidence to get ahead of market trends. “It’s so easy to overestimate the demand,” he said of making the leap to life sciences. “It’s already inspired people to make bad mistakes and expand into the wrong markets.”
The life sciences real estate boom has convinced many developers to try their hand at expanding into the lucrative, and complicated, world of wet labs, fume hoods and biomanufacturing. CBRE research found $21.4B was invested in new biotech and lab real estate last year, a 62% increase.But the specialized… Read the full story here. |