Taconic Partners has launched a new life sciences platform to acquire, develop, lease and manage more than $2 billion in assets.

Elevate Research Properties, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Taconic, includes 1.4 million square feet of lab space, with three projects in active development in Manhattan and another recently announced pipeline deal in the region.  Elevate also plans to invest in core lab markets outside of New York City, the company said in a statement.

Matthew Weir will serve as president of Elevate, in addition to his current role as executive vice president of Taconic. He said the platform will allow Taconic to consolidate its life science investment activities to “more effectively and more directly communicate” to the life science tenant market.

The platform has two active lab developments within a half mile of each other on Manhattan’s West Side: 125 West End Avenue, a 400,000 square foot, $600 million lab development delivering in the second quarter of 2023, and The Hudson Research Center, a 320,000 square foot building whose tenant roster includes the New York Stem Cell Foundation, Hibercell, c16 Biosciences, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

It will also soon unveil plans for 309 East 94th Street, a 200,000 square foot Class-A research lab development located near key academic medical institutions. Demolition and construction on the $325 million project will commence later this year.

Elevate will leverage certain Taconic resources to focus on establishing and growing a strong regional life sciences portfolio, the company said, and acquisitions, debt and equity capital markets, development and construction, leasing, operations and property management.