Ventas and GIC have formed a joint venture to invest in research and innovation development projects.

Initially, the joint venture will own four in-progress university-based research and innovation developments with an estimated cost of $930 million, known as Initial R&J JV Projects. As part of the transaction, Ventas has acquired 50% interest in these projects, and GIC has acquired a 45% interest. The joint venture's development partner Wexford Science & Technology has the remaining minority interest in the initial investments.

The first of the four projects is One uCity, an expansion of the Philadelphia uCity Square submarket associated with the University of Pennsylvania. The project began construction on October 1, 2020, and had previously paused as part of Ventas' proactive capital conservation actions in response to COVID-19. The next project is the College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, which includes a academic medicine facility, also in uCity Square, and will provide CNHP students, faculty and staff with access to Drexel's full suite of on-campus resources, according to the joint venture. The next project is phases one and two of the Pitt Immune Transplant & Therapy Center, which will entail the development of a research, academic medicine and innovation hub that will house immunotherapy research. The property is being development in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and co-located with UPMC's Shadyside Hospital. Finally, the last of the JV's four initial investments is the Arizona State University, a class-A, fully lab-enabled R&I center anchored by Arizona State University and focused on biomedical discovery and innovation in health outcomes.