Skokie lab buildings sell for $75M reflecting area’s commitment to life sciences

The buildings are part of the larger Illinois Science & Technology Park

Skokie lab buildings sell for $75M reflecting area’s commitment to life sciences
8025 and 8045 Lamon Avenue and Seth Singerman (Google Maps, SHA Cornell)

After buying a large research park in Skokie, Illinois, American Landmark Properties sold a portion of the property for almost as much as it paid for the full lot.

A venture of Singerman Real Estate purchased two adjoining properties at 8025 and 8045 Lamon Ave. in Skokie for more than $75 million, Crain’s Chicago Business reported.

The buildings, which total 286,000 square feet, are part of the larger almost-23-acre Illinois Science & Technology Park that American Landmark purchased for $77 million in January 2017. Another building in the technology park is a 178,246-square-foot office building that is fully leased to NorthShore University HealthSystem. That building is also currently for sale and is expected to bring in bids upwards of $40 million.

According to JLL, which is overseeing the leases for the campus, American Landmark is also working on redeveloping a 135,000-square-foot office building, located across the street from the recently sold buildings at 2030 Lamon Ave. That redevelopment is costing the developer $18 million.

While Singerman has owned buildings equipped with lab space in other markets like San Diego and Boston, the most recent purchase is the company’s first life science property in the Chicago area.

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The dearth of high-quality lab space in the Chicago area has previously caused local bioscience companies to move their operations to other markets with more options, but developers have been making strides to see that change.

“There’s a great vibrancy, a growth trajectory to the biotech and life science community in Chicagoland, which is anchored by world-class institutions and several market-leading, global pharmaceutical companies,” Seth Singerman, president and managing partner of Singerman Real Estate, told Crain’s. “We think that fosters the growth of several early-stage companies, and we’re excited about the prospect to support them.”

The buildings Singerman purchased include some available space as well as some established tenants, such as LanzaTech, which manufactures renewable ethanol, and Vetter, which makes clinical devices.

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[Crain’s] — Victoria Pruitt