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San Francisco

Impossible Foods staying in Redwood City with lease of second life sciences building

Alternative protein manufacturer leased Building 10 at Pacific Shores Center

1500 Seaport Blvd in Redwood City and John York with Impossible Foods (Impossible Foods, LoopNet)
1500 Seaport Blvd in Redwood City and John York with Impossible Foods (Impossible Foods, LoopNet)

Impossible Foods has finally found a new place to call home: Redwood City.

The alternative protein manufacturer signed a lease for the entire 164,000-square-foot Building 10 at Pacific Shores Center at 1500 Seaport Boulevard, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

A spokesperson for Impossible Foods said the company will move into the building next year. The company will also keep its current headquarters space at the nearby 400 Saginaw Drive.

After nearly doubling its workforce in 2020, the company began to look for a new location to serve as its headquarters. Impossible Foods, which hopes to hire 100 more scientists this year, needed a space with expanded research and development space, as well as a new test kitchen.

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The company almost found a home in San Carlos. It was in talks to lease the 230,000-square-foot building that was once the manufacturing site of Novartis AG at 150 Industrial Road, but negotiations fell through in April.

According to John York, Impossible Food’s chief scientist, the company was looking for space in the East Bay, but was considering locations on the Peninsula due to the proximity to universities like Stanford that could increase access to future food scientists.

Traditional biotech and other life science companies — like alternative food companies — drove demand in the Bay Area in the third quarter of 2021. More than 5 million square feet of lab space was required as a result, which will likely lead to an increase in leasing activity over future quarters, according to a report released by JLL.

Not too far away, IQHQ, a life science-focused REIT, acquired the site of a large project that it envisions as a life science district with a mixed-use component. The company purchased about eight acres of land that make up Elco Yards, a mixed-use development with almost 600,000 square feet of office and life science space.

[SFBT] — Victoria Pruitt

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Commercial Real EstateLife-sciencesRedwood City