Buchanan Street Lists Life Science Campus in Newark for Sale

Buchanan Street Partners has listed a life science campus in Newark for an undisclosed price, after investing $46 million in the property.

The Newport Beach-based investor has put the two-building Newark Science Center on the market at 8000-8100 Jarvis Avenue, the San Francisco Business Times reported.

Buchanan Street bought the 103,300-square-foot campus in 2020 for $26.2 million, or $254 per square foot. It was 98 percent leased at the time.

The firm then poured $14.7 million into a life science upgrade for 8100 Jarvis, including its air conditioning system, roof and common areas. It also spent $5.3 million for improvements at 8000 Jarvis.

The Newark Science Center is now 31.4 percent leased, with a remaining average lease term of 1.37 years.

The campus is listed by JLL, which said the site represents an opportunity to buy an upgraded property and offer investors business plans to “stabilize it.” The site could also be redeveloped for homes.

This summer, San Francisco-based Prologis bought a 291,900-square-foot office and research campus in nearby Fremont at 46859-46897 Bayside Parkway for $71.3 million, or $244 per square foot.

Buchanan has a habit of buying real estate in the Bay Area, fixing up the properties, then selling them for high returns, according to the Business Times.But the flip strategy apparently hasn’t worked in Newark.

In 2015, the investment management firm bought the 112,000-square-foot South San Francisco Business Center for $25.8 million, or $230 a square foot. Three years later, it sold it to PSAI Realty Partners for $47.4 million, or $423 per square foot.

Buchanan also bought Rowland Plaza in Novato in 2015 for $24.9 million, then sold it in 2018 for $36.7 million.

The vacancy for Newark and Fremont’s 23 million-square-foot life sciences market was 10.5 percent in the third quarter, according to CBRE, during an overall slump in the sector.

But JLL said venture capital investment in Bay Area life sciences and technology research sectors is starting to rebound, with $35.4 billion invested year to date, surpassing last year’s total.

— Dana Bartholomew