Financing secured for Merck & Company’s manufacturing campus at Delaware life sciences redevelopment

PHILADELPHIA, May 6, 2025 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has arranged construction financing for the development of Merck & Company’s 450,000-square-foot manufacturing and research facility at Chestnut Run Innovation and Science Park, a 163-acre campus containing 780,000 square feet of lab, research and advanced manufacturing space in Wilmington, Delaware.

JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, MRA Group, to secure the loan through JLL Securities, LLC, after spending several months exploring different financing / equity options, which included a CTL (Credit Tenant Lease) financing execution, bank construction financing and joint venture partnerships. The Structured Finance Group, part of JLL Securities, LLC, (“JLL Securities”) the firm’s Broker-Dealer, structured and placed the loan directly into the private placement bond market.

MRA acquired the former DuPont Chestnut Run Laboratory campus with an ambitious redevelopment plan. Their vision is for Chestnut Run Innovation & Science Park to become Delaware’s leading biotechnology and science hub, while also providing an engaging community experience.

The redevelopment includes utilizing and enhancing the existing infrastructure to create state-of-the-art life science laboratories, scientific research facilities and Class A office space. Campus amenities will include a hotel, a fitness center, conference space, an outdoor amphitheater, and accommodations for food services, including restaurants and eateries.

The JLL Capital Markets team representing the borrower was led by Senior Managing Directors Brett Segal, Ryan Ade and Chad Orcutt.

The JLL Securities Structured Finance team was led by Senior Managing Directors Bill Cavagnaro and Austin Johnson.

JLL’s Capital Markets group is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The group’s in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or a recapitalization. The group has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

JLL Securities’ Structured Finance Team, based in Atlanta, is a national practice, which specializes in CTL financing, ground lease financing and other structured debt solutions for all property types.

For more news, videos and research resources, please visit JLL’s newsroom.

Investment Banking and Securities offered through Jones Lang LaSalle Securities, LLC, a registered broker dealer and member of FINRA / SIPC.

MRA Group (MRA), based in Horsham, PA, is a privately held, vertically integrated real estate development and client services firm servicing the healthcare, higher education, and life sciences sectors. Founded in 1991 by MRA’s founding partner, Lawrence J. Stuardi, MRA prides itself on maintaining the same high level of integrity and excellence that led to its recognition as one of the most respected real estate firms in the Mid-Atlantic region. With over 34 years of value-add and ground-up development experience, and providing a full suite of real estate solutions to our clients, MRA has developed and continues to manage more than 4.5 million square feet of medical, life sciences, and office real estate. The company has also structured over $4.5 billion of financial transactions. A few recent and notable development projects include Spring House Innovation Park (SHIP), the Medical Building at 201 Veterans Way, and the Lab at the University of Pennsylvania's Pennovation Works Campus. Learn more at www.mragroup.net.