Blackstone Group’s BioMed Realty opened a two-building project that aims to bring together talent in Seattle’s South Lake Union district, an area that is quickly transforming into a life science cluster.
BioMed, one of the largest developers of lab and research-and-development properties in the United States, has signed several tenants at its roughly 528,000-square-foot Dexter Yard development that opened at 700 Dexter Ave. early last year.
Dexter Yard's combination of lab, office, recreation, retail and dining space, which creates a work-and-play environment aimed at bringing together South Lake Union's sought-after tech and life science talent, earned the transaction a 2023 CoStar Impact Award, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
The project is part of a wave of life science development that includes the Mercer Blocks project by Alexandria Real Estate Equities and several other developments being built or planned by Trammell Crow Co.
About the project: Dexter Yard, which opened in January 2022, has flexible floor plans, speculative suites and retail space, along with a unique pedestrian route that links South Lake Union and Dexter Avenue neighborhoods.
Sixth-floor views of downtown include the Space Needle and the rest of the South Lake District. The walkway leads to the Field House, a 5,500-square-foot multi-use space with a nearby beer hall.
Dexter Yard also includes showers and lockers, a rooftop deck, bike storage and conference rooms.
The New York-based developer has signed such major tenants as Parse Biosciences, Outpace Bio, Allen Institute and Shape Therapeutics.
What the judges said: Dexter Yard is one of the city's most complex projects from a variety of perspectives, including zoning, construction and multiple uses, said Grant Yerke, principal of Broderick Group.
"The outstanding design of this project makes it a bold addition to the growing South Lake Union neighborhood, which has been an economic engine for this region for more than a decade," added Nathan Daum, economic development program manager with the city of Shoreline. "By introducing such a significant quantity of speculative space to the market, the developer made an equally bold bet on the strength of our local innovation economy."
Dexter Yard is "a great project targeting the research/tech uses that are attracting large employers in future-looking industries," said Zane Shiras, principal with Lee & Associates.
They made it happen: Dexter Yard’s development and leasing team includes brokers Joe Gowen and Bailey Aggen of JLL, Hans Kemp and Chris Moe of CBRE, and representatives of BioMed, OAC, SkB Architects, Turner Construction and MacDonald Miller, among others.
