Mission Street & BGO to deliver science campus in Cambridge
Cambridge’s life sciences sector will be boosted by a new science and innovation campus that will be delivered by Mission Street and BentallGreenOak, who have acquired a 23-acre site in Coldham Lane, to the east of the city centre.
It is the fifth and largest acquisition by the specialist joint venture, that was created last year and now has a development pipeline of over 1 million sq ft of lab and office space in Oxford and Cambridge due for completion in mid-2023.
“The new acquisition provides the potential to deliver the most centrally located science and innovation district in Cambridge”, said Artem Korolev, founder & chief executive, Mission Street. “The site will provide the opportunity to deliver our vision for the next generation of commercial real estate in the UK, integrating the scheme into Cambridge’s urban fabric, with collaboration and sustainability at its heart”.
The scale of the site will allow the developers to deliver a large, open science and innovation campus with landscapes grounds, a café and play area with views over the adjacent lakes as well as a dedicated pedestrian and cycle route to the city centre.
The site is at the heart of the so-called “golden triangle” of Oxford, Cambridge and London, which accounts for 7% of England’s economic output. Life science-focused real estate development has not kept pace with fast-growing demand from pharma and biotech companies and this is hampering the UK’s ambitions to be a scientific powerhouse. In the Cambridge cluster, according to Bidwells data, there is demand for over 2 million sq ft of but no available lab space to let.
“We continue to be convinced that the science and innovation sector in the UK will be a source of growth and opportunity for strategic, purpose-driven real estate investment”, said Toby Phelps, managing director, BentallGreenOak. “Cambridge is at the epicentre of this dynamic industry and the current severe shortage of specialist space highlights the opportunity we see in the sector”.
