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Taconic lands first tenant for UWS life sciences hub

Graviton Bioscience taking 30K sf at West End Labs

Taconic Partners co-CEO Charles Bendit and 125 West End Avenue (Getty, Taconic Partners)
Taconic Partners co-CEO Charles Bendit and 125 West End Avenue (Getty, Taconic Partners)

Taconic Partners tallied its first tenant for a new life sciences hub in the Upper West Side.

Graviton Bioscience signed a lease for 30,000 square feet at West End Labs, the New York Post reported. The asking rent for the space was $125 per square foot.

Graviton develops therapeutics to treat autoimmune diseases. It plans on using its space at 125 West End Avenue for its research and office headquarters.

West End Labs is one of the major additions to the life sciences sector in New York City. In the spring, an entity of Apollo Global Management provided Taconic and its partner, Nuveen Real Estate, with a $300 million loan to refinance the eight-story, 400,000-square-foot development. 

The refinancing came two years after a $600 million recapitalization. As part of that recapitalization, LaSalle Investment Management joined the project as a $207 million equity partner.

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The building housing West End Labs was home to ABC until two years ago. In 2018, ABC parent the Walt Disney Company sold the campus to Silverstein Properties for $1 billion. Silverstein turned around and sold a piece of that to Taconic and Nuveen for $230 million, selling the rest to Gary Barnett’s Extell Development for $930 million.

Amenities at the life sciences property include a mechanical plant, a conference center, an outdoor roof terrace and other amenities. CBRE is leading marketing and leasing at the building.

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Last year, life sciences tenants leased a record 455,000 square feet in New York City, according to CBRE. It was the second consecutive year for leasing volume to exceed 400,000 square feet as the city has pushed to become a life sciences center, akin to Boston and San Diego, since the pandemic displayed the potential benefits of such employers in a region.

The average rent in New York City’s life sciences leases last year was $108.47 per square foot, which was also a record for the sector.

— Holden Walter-Warner

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Life ScienceNuveenOffice LeasingTaconic PartnersUpper West Side