SAN MATEO, Calif.–Clarion Partners Real Estate Income Fund Inc. (CPREIF) has acquired a 58,935-square foot biopharmaceutical facility located on more than three acres at 55 Messina Drive in Braintree, MA.
Clarion Partners, LLC (“Clarion Partners”), a leading U.S. real estate investment manager, is one of Franklin Templeton’s specialist investment managers.
The property – which features six wet labs, temperature-controlled rooms, a new water filtration system and 18.5’ ceiling heights –is a life science good manufacturing practices (GMP) facility and is 100% leased to Zimmer Biomet, a global leader in musculoskeletal healthcare.
“This is a great opportunity to purchase a strategically located property with an established tenant in this hot industrial submarket,” said Clarion Partners Managing Director Onay Payne. “Twenty-two of the 25 largest biopharmaceutical companies have a presence in the greater Boston area, and Braintree, where this property is located, lies in the world’s largest cluster of life science and biotech companies.”
GMP laboratories, which follow and systematically document adherence to GMP regulations, are governed by the U.S. Food &Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure the safety and integrity of drugs. GMP facilities support the biomanufacturing life cycle from initial small batch clinical trials through to commercial production and cover all aspects of production including the materials, premises, equipment, training and personal hygiene of the staff.
“We are very excited for the Clarion team on this acquisition,” said Scott Dragos, Executive Vice President of CBRE Capital Markets, which brokered the transaction. “There is significant demand for quality biomanufacturing space, both from tenants and investors alike, with very little product available to satisfy that demand. The property at 55 Messina is a state- of-the-art GMP facility with a long-term tenant with solid credit, but what makes this opportunity so unique is that this facility is already configured for clinical trials in compliance with FDA requirements.”
The property is located close to I-93 and I-95, providing convenient access to the greater Boston area, including downtown Boston (13 miles), Cambridge (18 miles) and Waltham (24 miles). Braintree’s Red Line station within Boston’s subway system, commonly called the T, is located approximately three miles from the property, providing direct access to Cambridge, a nexus of life science and biotech companies that is also the home of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
