Life Science Real Estate

Anybody have any good research pieces on the physical space requirements different Life Science tenants require? For example, floor load capacity, HVAC, electrical, clear heights, etc.

Decent amount of market and sector research for CRE Life Science but hard to find detailed research on the buildouts.

Thanks,

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I'm in acq/development for a large life science developer...

column spacing needs to be in 10-11' increments (ie 20/22, 30/33) to properly fit benching

live load 80+ (100+ including dead load)

deck to deck >12.5 (higher the better)

prefer room for a service elevator to fit 6' fume hoods but for small buildings can crane in

single pass air in labs, total ACH 10-12 (some will reference cfm 1.5-2.0)

25-30 watts/sf and 5wsf in e-power

1-2 hour fire ratings (based on building size) that create "control zones" which dictates the quantity of chemicals you can have. As you go up each control zone gets less.

2.5/1,000 parking (generally speaking, but can be lower depending on market)

Need mostly vacant building if doing a conversion, otherwise planning for shafts can be a pain

Vibration is a factor, but generally not a huge issue and not asked by tenants much. With good floor loading you're ok.

Ample room on roof and adequate roof load. Adding weight may trigger seismic upgrade, which is expensive

50/50 or 60/40 lab office ratio generally

Area for large trucks to drop off shipments. Loading dock preferred.

avoid post tension at all costs 

Agree with the above - ask a lab architect for an example feasibility report

 

You mind sharing / link to any good resources / primers? Ironically, work for a large LP that is very active in LS but hard come by this stuff for some reason

Will take your advice for sure and reach out to the architects

 

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