The biggest lease for life science space in the Los Angeles area last year was signed by Xencor Inc., a biopharmaceutical firm that is set to occupy more than half the 241,000-square-foot Pasadena Business Center in Pasadena.
Xencor, which develops treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases, plans to relocate its corporate headquarters from Monrovia, about 5 miles west, to the center at 465 N. Halstead St. this fall. That will be after it finishes the first phase of the 65-year-old building's conversion from offices under a $17 million tenant improvement allowance negotiated as part of the lease, which extends through 2035.
The deal, brokered by JLL's Patrick Church, Joshua Wrobel, Chad Urie and Michael McCrary, who represented Xencor in negotiations with building owners Lincoln Property Co. and Angelo Gordon, came amid a national research and development boom that has created demand for lab space and thousands of jobs in emerging clusters of life sciences businesses in greater Los Angeles and across the country.
Why it matters: Greater Los Angeles trails San Diego and San Francisco as a California center for life science, a robust engine for high-paying jobs and research funding. However, Pasadena is one of the L.A. area's primary research and development hubs and has attracted interest from life science, technology and engineering companies hoping to tap into talent drawn to the area's many prestigious higher education institutions.
Pasadena is also home to the California Institute of Technology, which among other things manages NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Huntington Medical Research Institute. Together, they employ thousands of workers at average salaries of nearly $100,000 a year, according to Biocom California, an industry trade group.
What they're saying: "Xencor's lease represents a 300% increase over their current footprint in Monrovia, and it moves them to Pasadena," Church said. "It’s going to be a huge draw to see the company grow, and a significant win for Pasadena as the city competes with other biotech hotspots in the region such as Thousand Oaks, Culver City, West Los Angeles and the South Bay."
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