CBRE has recruited Bay Area life science agents Mary Hines and Jennifer Vergara as vice chairs, the company’s highest title for producers, according to a press release.
Hines and Vergara had served as executive managing directors at Newmark’s San Mateo office since 2016, according to Newmark’s website.
Hines said she and Vergara are “excited to leverage our roles as vice chairs to enhance visibility and representation for women in commercial real estate, underscoring the significance of women in leadership positions,” which they hope will create a “supportive environment that empowers the next generation of women leaders in our industry.”
Vergara credited CBRE’s “integrated services such as project management, consulting, and facilities management” for the move and said the company has a “very strong platform that goes beyond brokerage and creates value for our clients.”
That value is much needed in the current life science market with a glut of available space for lease. The sector seemed like the Bay Area’s safest bet in the early days of the pandemic, but new development and traditional office conversions collided with a reduction in life science funding to create a renters’ market.
Nationally, only three major life science properties sold so far this year, compared to 62 in 2022, according to a report from Cushman & Wakefield. The report states that “it has become clear that developers over-responded to demand for lab space, leading to a supply glut in the sector.”
In the second quarter, life science vacancy in the Bay Area market was 24.6 percent, according to data from CBRE.
Vergara and Hines have more than 45 years of experience between them and have completed more than 12 million square feet of life science transactions, representing a variety of venture-backed startups, large pharmaceutical companies, publicly traded REITs and institutional landlords. In addition, Hines is fluent in Mandarin, while Vergara is fluent in Spanish.
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“I’ve had the opportunity to work with the team of Hines and Vergara for nearly 20 years and can say without reservation they are best-in-class at building enduring relationships with clients based on a combination of trust and excellence,” said Matt Gardner, CBRE Americas life sciences leader, in a statement.
Hines and Vergara were twice recognized by the San Francisco Business Times in its “Deal of the Year” honors, including last year for their work representing Pliant Therapeutics on a seven-year, 100,000-square-foot lease in a Healthpeak complex. The rare expansion deal nearly tripled the drug development company’s office footprint in South San Francisco.