SAN FRANCISCO—HCP and CBRE plan to break ground this week on the first phase of The Cove at Oyster Point, a new life science development located in South San Francisco.

“We are excited to commence development of The Cove and believe that its innovative design and rich amenities will be attractive to our existing life science clients and the broader life science industry,” said Jon Bergschneider, executive vice president of HCP Life Science Estates.

The Cove will be South San Francisco's first ground-up multi-tenant life science development in close to a decade, according to CBRE life sciences experts Chris Jacobs and Rick Friday, who have been engaged by HCP to exclusively handle leasing of the project.

Plans call for an 884,000 square foot, fully integrated, waterfront campus located on Oyster Point Boulevard in South San Francisco. The campus design consists of seven buildings ranging in size from 102,000 square feet to 158,000 square feet in both single- and multi-tenant building configurations. The first phase of the project, consisting of two buildings totaling 253,000 square feet, is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2016.

The Cove will be a pre-certified LEED Silver project and is planned to feature 5.5 acres of outdoor green space, a state of the art amenity center, as well as retail and hotel entitlements.

“The time is right for new development in South San Francisco,” said CBRE's Jacobs, who notes that vacancy for research space in the area is less than one percent, while demand is strong. “Market fundamentals and industry dynamics have built a compelling case for new development. I've been tracking life sciences for 25 years and never seen vacancy this low. The strong demand we're seeing from life sciences tenants simply can't be met with the limited, existing inventory.”

“There are several life science companies with large requirements in the market right now,” added Friday. “These tenants are looking for the type of amenity-rich and collaborative environment that The Cove will offer, as such we anticipate leasing at the project to be quite competitive.”

HCP is a premier owner and developer of life science and office real estate on the West Coast. HCP is the largest life science property owner in the Bay Area with over 4.8 million square feet in its portfolio, including over 2.8 million square feet in South San Francisco.