500K-sf life sciences complex eyed for Fulton Market

Demand for life-science labs and research centers has only intensified during the pandemic and now developer Mark Goodman wants in, in a big way.

The head of Mark Goodman & Associates plans to build a 500,000-square-foot life science lab at 400 N. Elizabeth Street in Fulton Market, Crain’s reported. The development would cost about $200 million and pending city approval, Goodman would buy the site from a Peppercorn Capital-led group for $30 million.

The 19-story building would be among the largest labs in the city, coming at a time when the sector is booming, with several large projects in the works or planned. Nationwide, more than 36 million square feet of new construction is expected to hit the top 14 life science markets across the United States, according to a recent report.

Last August, Sterling Bay said it would build a 320,000-square-foot life-science research center within its Lincoln Yards megaproject.

And December, Chicago-based Harrison Street Real Estate Capital said it had raised $720 million in 60 days for a fund to primarily invest in life-science labs and data centers.
If approved, Goodman’s project would rise near another Fulton Market life-science development. Trammell Crow is building a 420,000-square-foot complex called Fulton Labs, at 400 N. Aberdeen Street. The firm is also transforming another property, 1375 W. Fulton Market, for life-science use, according to Crain’s.

Goodman said in a statement that Chicago “already has the essential elements to attract life sciences investment and this building completes the offering, giving Chicago a competitive edge over coastal life-science hub cities, such as Boston and San Francisco,” according to the report. The developer is seeking $80 million in equity financing for the spec project, scheduled to take 18 months to build.

[Crain’s] — Alexi Friedman