Partners Real Estate Leads $107M Biosciences HQ Development

Castle Biosciences is advancing development of a headquarters building in its long-time home of Friendswood.

Developer Partners Real Estate will start construction soon on the cancer diagnostics company’s four-story office building at 1500 West Parkwood Avenue, just a few miles from its office at 505 South Friendswood Drive, the Houston Business Journal reported.

“It was important to us to maintain our presence in the Friendswood community, and the land and space provides us with a great opportunity to do that,” Castle Biosciences said in a statement. The company has had a presence in Friendswood for about 20 years.

The headquarters development will include 80,000 square feet of office space and 30,000 square feet of retail. It is expected to cost $107 million, or $973 per square foot. Another $6 million will pay for public infrastructure, funded by a tax increment reinvestment zone. Castle Biosciences is expected to take 40,000 square feet for its own offices.

Houston-based Tramonte Design Studios is the architect. Construction is expected to start in October.

Castle Biosciences began planning its headquarters development last summer when it started to evaluate its growing needs. The firm has 200 employees in Friendswood and south Houston, but it could have 300 or 400 in a few years, founder and CEO Derek Maetzold said.

The development would draw from a TIRZ that is engaged in a legal battle. A judge granted a temporary restraining order after two residents sued, in a complaint that names Friendswood City Manager Morad Kabiri and three city council members as defendants, claiming its creation earlier this year violated Texas’ tax code because it is in an area that is not “unproductive, underdeveloped or blighted,” or otherwise needs taxpayer funds to flourish, the outlet reported.

Castle Biosciences also has a 20,000-square-foot lab space in Pittsburgh, which opened last year, as well as a lab in Phoenix.

— Andrew Terrell