Life Science Lease to Double NYC’s COVID-19 Testing Capabilities

Biotechnology company, Opentrons has secured a 30,000-square-foot sublease in Manhattan for a new pandemic response lab.

NEW YORK CITY – Cushman & Wakefield has arranged a 30,000-square-foot sublease at the Alexandria Center for Life Science in Manhattan, on behalf of Opentrons.

Within the space, the biotechnology company will operate a pandemic response lab; doubling the city’s COVID-19 testing capabilities.

Opentrons will occupy one floor at the Alexandria Center for Life Science, which is currently the city’s first and only commercial life science campus that hosts a range of life science entities.

The company will continue its work in the space; creating robots for biologists and aiming to provide a platform for the scientific community to share protocols and reproduce results.

The space represents Opentron’s first Manhattan location.

“Increasing New York City’s COVID-19 testing capacity to enable faster, more easily accessible, scalable and effective testing is critical to curtailing the spread of COVID-19, as well as facilitating a safer reopening of workplaces, schools, communities and society overall,” states John Cunningham, EVP and regional market director of New York City at Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. “We are proud that our leadership position in New York City’s life science ecosystem has provided us the opportunity to work closely with the City of New York and the NYCEDC to bring Opentrons and its pandemic response lab to the Alexandria Center. This represents an important step in preparing for potential resurgences this fall.”

Cushman & Wakefield’s William Hartman, Michael Baraldi and James Gale represented Opentrons in the transaction.

“Pandemic response labs have been a key aspect of NYC’s public health response to the pandemic,” says Hartman. “We are thrilled to help the city expand its COVID-19 testing capabilities.”