Mark Goodman & Associates buys Fulton Market site for 16-story life science building

A Chicago-based developer has bought a 1.5 acre site for a planned 16-story life science building in Fulton Market.

Mark Goodman & Associates is expected to start planning pre-construction this month after buying the site at 400 North Elizabeth Street, between West Washington Boulevard and West Madison Street, the Chicago Business Journal reported.

Once the vacant building on the site — the former home of the Lakeshore Beverage distributorship — is demolished, it will make way for a 503,000-square-foot building consisting of 60 percent life sciences and 40 percent office space.

“There is built-in flexibility in the design to accommodate specific tenant needs, so the final ratio of lab to office space will be determined by the building’s occupants,” Mark Goodman told the journal. “We believe life sciences is a growing industry that will continue to increase in importance. Chicago has the infrastructure and resources to support it, but there is a need for more customized space that addresses specific lab requirements of those potential users.”

Groundbreaking on the project is planned for this summer with the project likely being completed by the fourth quarter of 2024.

Goodman said the new life science building will be one of the only research and development lab buildings in the city that is “designed by and for scientists” and built “to specifically accommodate life-sciences operations.”

“We didn’t start with an office plan and then change it to life sciences.” Goodman said. “We started with life sciences and designed the space around that.”

Goodman also said that while Chicago may be trailing other cities with life sciences properties, it won’t be that way for long.

“By way of comparison, Chicago has 5 million square feet of space whereas Boston has close to 30 million square feet,” Goodman said. “But the good news is that Chicago developers are working hard to close the gap and can offer top-tier space at a better value point, often at the lowest cost of major life sciences markets.”

[CBJ] — Victoria Pruitt