Karlin, UT take bioscience off campus

Wet lab on Parmer Lane eyes startups in first off-site location of ‘Discovery’ initiative

Karlin Real Estate, UT Austin Eye Graduation To New Wet Lab
From left: Karlin Real Estate's Matthew Schwab and UT President Jay Hartzell along with a rendering of the Parmer Lane development (Getty, UT, Karlin Real Estate)

Two heavyweights are injecting Austin with a bioscience boost.

Karlin Real Estate and the University of Texas at Austin are partnering to develop a wet lab on Parmer Lane.

UT Impact Labs at Parmer Austin, spanning 10,000 square feet, will be the first off-campus site for the university’s Discovery to Impact initiative, which leases space to life science startups. The cost of the project hasn’t been revealed.

“Austin is poised to become a major life sciences hub, and I’m excited about UT and Karlin leading this movement, leaving a profound impact locally and globally,” UT President Jay Hartzell said in a news release.

Discovery to Impact focuses on commercializing life-science discoveries through collaborations with researchers, investors, creators and entrepreneurs. Such efforts often grow around major research universities, aiming to foster startups and forge partnerships with established firms.

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Karlin previously developed the Parmer RTP life sciences superhub in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, housing Duke University’s Human Vaccine Institute, as well as various life sciences companies. The superhub has driven growth in the sector.

Parmer Austin offers laboratory and office spaces, providing tenants the opportunity to lease high-quality facilities in one of the fastest-growing regions in the U.S. The latest Discovery to Impact project is part of a push to provide a thriving life-science sector room to grow.

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“Historically, the availability and affordability of laboratory space for innovators limited our ability to foster a thriving life sciences cluster,” said Gary Farmer, chairman and interim CEO of Opportunity Austin. 

Austin’s life sciences sector has surged, growing tenfold from 2017 to 2023, elevating the city from the 23rd to the 10th-largest life sciences hub in the nation. 

Life sciences are taking off elsewhere in Texas as well. Houston has a startup incubator in the Ion, and multiple other life sciences developments are on the way. Dallas is also ready to boom as a life sciences hub.

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