BioMed Realty Inks $511M Pact for Lyme Portfolio

CAMBRIDGE, MA-BioMed Realty Trust has inked an agreement with affiliates of New Hampshire-based Lyme Timber Co. to acquire the firm’s US portfolio in a $511-million deal. The acquisition will make BioMed one of the largest holders of life science properties in the country.

The acquisition, which is expected to close in the second quarter, includes about 600,000 sf of lab space at 320 Bent St. and 301 Binney St., both in Cambridge’s Kendall Square, along with a development parcel adjacent to the Houston Medical Center in Houston and the Science Park at Yale, located adjacent to Yale University in New Haven, CT.

“We see this acquisition as a way to provide space and opportunities for our prospective tenants who are looking to grow,” Kent Griffin, CFO with BioMed, tells GlobeSt.com. Griffin says the acquisition also gives the firm a stabilized asset with lease-up potential and some development opportunities. The Cambridge properties are also part of the Rogers Street campus, a portion of which was acquired by BioMed in a May 2005 portfolio deal with Lyme, he notes.

Lyme did returned calls from GlobeSt.com in time for deadline but an expert in life science real estate tells GlobeSt.com that the portfolio acquisition was likely a result of the longstanding relationship between the two firms.

“I think they just established a business relationship and this was the logical next step for Lyme and a good opportunity for BioMed,” Dan Cordeau, with Jones Lang LaSalle’s Boston office, tells GlobeSt.com. “This is a good way for [BioMed] to acquire quality sites for their core business.”

The 185,000-sf office and laboratory building at 320 Bent St. is fully leased to Schering-Plough and Microbia. The 420,000-sf life science project at 201 Binney St, is 27% preleased and still under construction. BioMed plans to invest $100 million to complete the building’s construction, according to a statement. Also as part of the acquisition BioMed will receive a fully leased, 37-unit apartment complex and the 500-car Binney Street garage.

This acquisition will be the third transaction between BioMed and Lyme Properties. In November, BioMed paid Lyme $473 million for the 702,940-sf Center for Life Science Boston at 3 Blackfan Circle. The deal made BioMed the largest holder of life science properties in the Boston area. In May, BioMed acquired a 1.1-million-sf portfolio of Cambridge life science buildings from Lyme.