By Paul Schwedelson – Reporter, Philadelphia Business Journal
As Wexford Science & Technology stares down 80,000 square feet of vacant space in one of its University City buildings, the firm is doubling down on Philadelphia’s life sciences sector by investing $28.5 million to renovate the property.
The renovations at 3711 Market St. are planned to begin within the first two months of 2025 and be completed before the end of the year. The goal in updating the 16-year-old, 10-story, 150,000-square-foot building is to boost occupancy, which currently sits at 45%.
“Despite some of the challenges over the last 12 to 18 months in the market, we believe strongly in the depth and the trajectory of life sciences in Philadelphia,” said Pete Cramer, vice president and market executive for Wexford.
While tenant demand among life sciences companies has slowed since 2023, industry experts believe leasing will pick up in the coming year. Wexford’s renovations are intended to lure tenants to a space that's competing with new buildings.
To do so, Baltimore-based Wexford and Chicago-based development partner Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR) are planning upgrades including a renovated lobby to facilitate meeting and collaboration among building tenants, increased HVAC and backup power capacity, and move-in ready lab and office suites.
Current tenants at 3711 Market St. – part of Wexford’s uCity Square campus, which spans One uCity Square and 3675 Market St. – include Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY), Spark Therapeutics and Good Molecules.
Cramer sees the move-in ready suites as an advantage to attracting tenants. Those are especially attractive to life sciences companies that often need new space very quickly after new discoveries are made and prefer not to wait for space to be built out.
Cramer said 3711 Market St. can accommodate tenants wanting to take as little as a move-in ready suite, which span 3,000 to 12,00 square feet, to as much as a full floor. The building has 35,000-square-foot floor plates and nearly 15-foot ceiling heights.
Full story: https://tinyurl.com/2epujv27
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