Biotech Nonprofit Recommits to Mission Bay Offices

As some biotech companies pull back from growing in the Bay Area, biomedical research nonprofit Gladstone Institutes is expanding in its home of San Francisco.

Gladstone signed a lease for 105,000 square feet at 1450 Owens Street in Mission Bay, representing one of the largest leases of the year so far, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The lease includes space for 30 new labs and an option to buy the property in the future.

The building, developed by Alexandria Real Estate Equities, sits a block from Gladstone’s headquarters at 1650 Owens. Gladstone plans to use the space to house the Gladstone Institute of Data Science and Biotechnology and the Gladstone–University of California, San Francisco Institute of Genomic Immunology. The expansion accompanies a hiring push by the company, as it aims to hire 300 scientists, boosting its current workforce of roughly 600 by about 50 percent.

The growth is notable in the increasingly challenging life sciences landscape across the country. Biotech firms have been pausing development across the Bay Area while federal research funding has also slipped under the Trump Administration. Gladstone relies heavily on grants from the National Institutes of Health, with approximately $80 million of its $125 million annual budget coming from the NIH. Funding dropped by 10 percent last year, Gladstone president Dr. Deepak Srivastava told the Chronicle.

Still, the nonprofit is pushing ahead, leaning on philanthropy to close funding gaps. It has already raised roughly $200 million toward a $350 million campaign launched in 2024, with backing from a roster of high-net-worth donors, including real estate figures such as developer and former San Francisco Giants owner Bob Lurie and developer and 49ers owner John Sobrato.

The deal is a vote of confidence in Mission Bay, which has evolved from a sparse industrial zone into a dense hub for biotech, artificial intelligence and institutional users. Case in point: OpenAI and Anthropic both have their headquarters in the neighborhood, with OpenAI inking a deal to expand its presence in Mission Bay once again earlier this month. Gladstone was one of the first tenants in Mission Bay, planting its flag there in 2004.

Alexandria completed 1450 Owens in 2024. The building remains about half vacant, with Gladstone planning to move in by early next year after completing tenant improvements.

— Chris Malone Méndez