Trending

Zuckerberg institute leases building in Redwood City

Deal for 226K sf at Elco Yards Downtown valued at $375M, sources say

Chan Zuckerberg institute leases life sciences building in Redwood City
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan with a rendering of Elco Yards at 1601 El Camino Real in Redwood City (IQHQ, Getty)

The Chan Zuckerberg Institute for Advanced Biological Imaging has leased a 226,000-square-foot life sciences campus in downtown Redwood City, next to its headquarters.

The institute — part of the Chan Zuckerberg Imaging Institute founded by Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan — leased offices in the new Elco Yards project at 1601 El Camino Real, the San Francisco Business Times reported, citing unidentified sources.

The value of the institute’s lease is about $375 million, the sources said. Terms of the December deal with Elco developer IQHQ, based in Solana Beach, were not disclosed.

Broker Ben Paul of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord in the lease, while brokers Mike Courson of Newmark and Matt Germino of CBRE worked on behalf of Chan Zuckerberg.

The lease represents a boost to the Bay Area life sciences market, real estate observers told the Business Times, which has endured an industry slump, along with job cuts

It also marks one of the biggest biosciences transactions in the Peninsula market and the largest new lease overall in San Mateo County.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The institute had targeted Palo Alto and San Carlos, but chose Elco Yards because of its resources, including state-of-the art microscopes, sources told the newspaper.

It’s among the few expansions of biosciences lab space in a Peninsula downtown.

The 670,000-square foot Elco Yards, designed by WRNS Studio, stretches across 8.3 acres and includes four life sciences buildings, including the one rented by Chan Zuckerberg. Elco Yards also contains 540 apartments and 29,000 square feet of shops and restaurants.

The deal comes after the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative last year completed an 111,000-square-foot expansion at its nearby headquarters, according to the Business Times. The umbrella entity for for-profit and nonprofit ventures funded by Zuckerberg and Chan moved to Redwood City from Palo Alto in 2018.

In 2021, the Initiative pledged up to $3.4 billion over the next decade to study how to eradicate human disease, with the imaging institute announced as part of its plans. In October, the Initiative leased 38,000 square feet from Columbia University for the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub New York.

Dana Bartholomew

Read more

Breaking News
San Francisco
IQHQ lands $581M loan for Elco Yards in Redwood City
Commercial
San Francisco
Vacancy at Bay Area life science offices and labs hits 20% 
Chan Zuckerberg HQ in Redwood City Goes Up for Sale
Commercial
San Francisco
Premia Capital lists Chan Zuckerberg HQ in Redwood City for sale
Recommended For You