An artist's concept of the Boren Lofts building.The life science sector in Washington State has reason to rejoice. With more demand than space, life science startups, companies and innovators can now look forward to moving into 136,000 square feet dedicated lab space, right in the heart of bustling South Lake Union.

Oxford Property Group announced the purchase of Boren Office Lofts, a new 10-story building that was once destined to be office space. With the change in the economy due to COVID, the opportunity presented itself to convert the unfinished interior to serve the life science sector instead. The building, located at the corner of Boren and Virginia, is close to the new Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, NanoString Technologies and Celgene.

South Lake Union is “one of the most desirable life science ecosystems in the country,” says Oxford Executive Vice President for North America Chad Remis.

Oxford is the first to see opportunity in the rapidly changing Seattle skyline. Once dedicated office space begs to be reimagined to capture the rapid growth in life science, commercial space, clean technology, electric and autonomous vehicles and other pursuits that require collaborative research and development spaces. In the case of the Boren Office Lofts, the conversion to lab space was made easier because it was virtually a blank canvas, lending itself to the addition of backup power and water supplies, ductwork and airflow systems required for life science R&D.

It’s easy to forget with Amazon’s dominance, but South Lake Union remains “a biotech hub,” said Chris Kagi, senior broker for Savills in Seattle. “Life sciences is a very strong market right now and landlords are going to look to take advantage of the continued growth in that sector.”

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