A 2.07-acre Millbrae plot across the street from one of the largest transit hubs in the region now belongs to life sciences-focused developer Longfellow Real Estate Partners, which on Monday celebrated its seventh acquisition in the Bay Area.
The Boston-based company confirmed that it has purchased the site that houses a roughly 85,000-square-foot self storage facility at 210 Adrian Road — immediately south of the San Francisco International Airport and within walking distance of the Millbrae Transit Center — for $80 million. The seller was privately held real estate firm Finn Capital.
In line with its recent acquisitions in the East Bay and on the Peninsula, Longfellow indicated that it will repurpose the site in the heart of Millbrae into a life science development.
The plan is to build 260,000 square feet of Class A space, adding to supply to what currently is a tight market for life sciences and biotech companies in the Bay Area. Construction could begin in 2023.
“Longfellow is committed to investing in key life science clusters across the country. The Bay Area has long been one of the most dynamic markets for the industry, and the growth of our portfolio in the region is a response to the demand from life science and biotech companies,” said Longfellow CEO Adam Sichol. “The long-term success of our tenants is at the core of Longfellow’s mission, and as our tenants grow within our portfolio, the acquisition in Millbrae allows our firm to meet their growth.”
While Longfellow represented itself in the deal, Finn Capital was represented by Charles Strouss, Yvonne Hsiung, and Jonathan Ziegler of CBRE.
Over the past three years, Finn Capital has invested over $250 million dollars in San Mateo County, with an “emphasis on building and advancing a thoughtful, long-lasting portfolio,” the company said in a statement on Monday. It owns and manages over 1 million square feet on the Peninsula.
“This sale allows us to be nimble and thoughtful in our re-investments, while also aggressively moving forward with new, exciting opportunities,” said Finn Capital CEO Stephen Finn.
Meanwhile, Longfellow — which already has established a presence in Palo Alto, Redwood City and San Francisco’s Mission Bay — is growing its real estate footprint locally north and south of San Francisco.
In May, the company made its first foray into Emeryville, which is growing as an established life science cluster, with the long-term ground lease for an Emeryville office property with plans to convert it into a Class A life sciences facility at 1650 65th St.
In April, Longfellow acquired two buildings totaling 250,000 square feet at the San Mateo Bay Center for $155 million in what market insiders described as a first major office-to-life sciences play in San Mateo County outside South San Francisco.
Longfellow also has partnered with New York-based KKR to operate the 750,000-square-foot Mission Bay office complex known as The Exchange at 1800 Owens St. in San Francisco.
Longfellow was founded in 2009 and employs over 125 people. It is the largest privately held life science real estate services firm in the U.S., with offices in Boston/Cambridge, San Diego, San Francisco, New York City, and the Research Triangle of North Carolina. Its portfolio consists of more than 12 million square feet of lab and tech space.
