Pfizer Announces Relocation to Mission Bay;
Increased Vacancy in Certain East Bay Submarkets - Are Better
Deals on the Horizon?

Peninsula tenants looking for competitive rates on expansion opportunities might find some unique properties in the East Bay, according to GVA Kidder Mathews.

In the last month, approximately 191,772 square feet of existing wet laboratory sublease space became available in the East Bay market with the majority of the space being the former Kosan Biosciences space in Hayward. This new availability includes properties with vivarium, cGMP and pilot scale manufacturing capabilities. As East Bay market vacancies rise, we may start to see increased interest in this location from Peninsula tenants looking for well improved space at highly competitive rates with expansion opportunities.

Within the six Bay Area counties tracked by GVA Kidder Mathews, approximately 283,203 square feet of existing wet laboratory space became available during August 2008. The additional space increases the total vacancy of existing wet laboratory space to 3,137,532 square feet throughout the Bay Area.

Leasing activity for August was dominated by Pfizer’s pre-leasing of 100,500 square feet at 455 Mission Bay Boulevard in Mission Bay from life science developer Alexandria Real Estate Equities. Pfizer plans to move about 100 employees from their South San Francisco location, including the headquarters of its new Biotherapeutics and Bioinnovation Center to this flourishing new development. Collaborations with the private sector and UCSF were important driving forces attracting Pfizer to Mission Bay. Despite a general lack of leasing activity from larger users, the Bay Area life science market continues to experience strong activity from startups looking for space below 25,000 square feet. However, due to financing challenges, some leasing deals have been taking longer to complete.

GVA Kidder Mathews is an independent commercial real estate firm, with over 355 real estate professionals and staff in eight offices in Washington, Oregon, and California. If you would like additional information on available life sciences or cleantech real estate, please contact Janice Hennessey at 415.229.8950 or janiceh@gvakm.com.