Forge Development has picked up a 10-acre industrial site in northwest Berkeley for nearly $49 million with plans to build a life science campus.
The Del Mar-based developer bought 16 parcels containing the former site of Pacific Steel Casting and Berkeley Forge and Tool bounded by Eastshore Highway, Gilman Street, Third Street and Page Street, the San Jose Mercury News and Berkelyside reported.
The seller or sellers were not disclosed. Proceeds from the sale will fund $24 million in unpaid pensions for former steelworkers, according to Berkeleyside.
In December, a Berkeley consultant filed a rezoning application on behalf of Oklahoma-based Spur Capital, which sought to build an eight-building campus with 900,000 square feet for life science research and development around 640 Gilman Street.
It’s not clear if Spur, which was under contract to buy the site, is still behind the project. A group called PF Capital and Jonathan Praw, a former executive with Kilroy Realty, now have key roles in the development, according to the Mercury News.
The project, known as Berkeley Forge and formerly dubbed Gilman Gateway, would replace the former plant of Pacific Steel, which declared bankruptcy in 2014 before it was purchased by Speyside Equity, a private equity firm based in New York.
It’s not clear if Speyside was involved in the most recent sale.
Pacific Steel closed in 2018 after 84 years of smokestack work, its buildings scarred with graffiti. The smaller Berkeley Forge and Tool closed last year.
If approved, the life science campus would span four city blocks and add to a boom of life science construction across West Berkeley, much of which centers around Aquatic Park, and mark an expansion north of University Avenue, according to Berkeleyside.
Plans call for clusters of three-, four-, five- and six-story buildings, according to a rendering, plus three seven-story parking garages for nearly 1,900 cars.
Other Berkeley development include Lane Partners’ Berkeley Commons, a 470,000-square-foot life science development at 600 Addison Street. SteelWave is constructing theLAB Berkeley, a $241 million, 284,000-square-foot life science project nearby.
About a mile away, RedCo is moving forward on an approved 210,000-square-foot life science development at 742 Grayson Street.
San Diego-based IQHQ, where Praw serves as chief investment officer, has filed plans to build a 654,000-square-foot life science campus in Redwood City after buying a former Oracle office building for $164 million.
— Dana Bartholomew
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