JLL arranges $310M construction loan for first all-electric life sciences campus in California

SAN FRANCISCO, Mar. 3, 2023 – JLL’s Capital Markets group announced today that it arranged a $310 million construction loan for the development of Avia Labs at Millbrae Station, a best-in-class life sciences development totaling 315,000 square feet at the Bart and Caltrain station in  Millbrae, California. The project will be the first all-electric life sciences development in California.

JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, Longfellow Real Estate Partners, to secure the loan through Otera Capital, a leader in commercial real estate debt.

“The Bay Area remains one of the crucial global hubs for life science innovation within our international portfolio. As we continue to expand our presence in the region, we look forward to delivering ground-up projects that are built to accommodate the robust requirements of our tenants.” said Longfellow Co-Founder & CEO Adam Sichol. “Avia Labs will not only provide top-quality lab and office space but reflect Longfellow’s commitment to environmental sustainability across our portfolio.”

Longfellow broke ground on Avia Labs on March 1, 2023. The six-story, Class A building is targeting LEED Gold and Fitwel certifications and emphasizes both energy efficiency and quality of life for tenants. The on-site amenity package includes a fitness center, a public café open to the community, large conference spaces, bike storage, two levels of underground parking and a large terrace with city and mountain views.

The property is positioned on 2.1 acres at 210 Adrian Rd. in Millbrae, which is in the North County submarket of the Mid-Peninsula. The North County submarket is extremely undersupplied with a vacancy rate of 1.8% as of 4Q 2022, positioning the project well for lease-up. In addition, Avia Labs is directly adjacent to the Millbrae BART and CalTrain station and in close proximity to the world-class research institutions at Stanford, Berkeley and UCSF.

According to JLL’s 2022 Life Sciences Lab Real Estate Outlook, emerging markets such as Millbrae are planting the seeds for long-term opportunities for life sciences companies, investors and developers.

The JLL Capital Markets Debt Advisory team representing the borrower was led by Silicon Valley based Senior Managing Director Jordan Angel, Director Lillian Roos and Analyst Pat Aslanian.

“Millbrae is the only transit station in the greater Bay Area where both BART and CalTrain come together in one station, providing an incredible opportunity for tenants to have public transit options to the East Bay, San Francisco, the Peninsula and Greater Silicon Valley, while being in the epicenter of one of the top life sciences markets in the world,” Angel added.

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 and sales advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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Longfellow Real Estate Partners is a real estate investment company founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 2009. With over 200 employees in bio-innovation clusters across the U.S. and UK, Longfellow partners with renowned universities and pioneering life sciences and technology companies to help bring visionary ideas to life. Driven by a passion to support those working to advance the human condition, Longfellow continues to grow and expand in the name of scientific progress. For more information, visit lfrep.com. 

With over $21 billion in assets under management and a vertically integrated team of commercial real estate lending professionals, Otera Capital is a major institutional investor active in commercial real estate financing across North America. Headquartered in Montreal with offices in New York and Toronto, Otera is a subsidiary of CDPQ, a global investment group with $297 billion in assets under management. Otera offers a wide range of commercial real estate financing solutions tailored to the needs of clients and partners in a variety of markets and asset classes including multi-family, office, life sciences, industrial, mixed-use and selective alternative sectors. For more information, visit oteracapital.com.