The Princeton West Innovation Campus at 311 Pennington Rocky Hill Road in Hopewell — Courtesy: Lincoln Equities Group
By Joshua Burd
Lincoln Equities Group will soon welcome another user to its sprawling life sciences campus in Hopewell, having sold a 42-acre portion of the property to a global biotech company.
BeiGene, which develops and commercializes cancer medicines, is planning to create a state-of-the-art manufacturing space and clinical research and development center at what’s known as the Princeton West Innovation Campus, which spans 433 acres at 311 Pennington Rocky Hill Road. Construction of the initial phase is expected to begin in 2022 and be completed in late 2023 or 2024, as the firm would join a growing list of users that are repopulating the former Bristol-Myers Squibb campus.
The deal comes about a year and a half after LEG and H.I.G. Realty Partners purchased the complex from the pharmaceutical giant, which left behind nine principal buildings with high-end clinical manufacturing facilities, plug-and-play biological laboratories and office space, plus freestanding R&D support space, storage facilities and a global data and command center. The property is minutes from downtown Princeton, interstates 95 and 295 and other highways.
Daniel Loughlin of JLL and Robert Klausner of Fox Rothschild LLP represented LEG in the deal with BeiGene.
“We are excited to welcome BeiGene as an anchor tenant within our new Princeton West Innovation Campus,” LEG President Joel Bergstein said. “Our 1.2 million-square-foot life sciences site, formerly owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb, is an ideal location for both manufacturing and R&D given its existing infrastructure and prime location along New Jersey’s life sciences corridor.”
According to a news release, BeiGene is investing in U.S. manufacturing to expand and diversify its global supply chain and build capabilities for its pipeline of biologic and drug candidates. To that end, its new Hopewell facility is slated to include up to 400,000 square feet of dedicated commercial-stage biologic pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, including up to 16,000 liters of biologics capacity, along with clinical R&D and office space.
LEG added that the property, which has also attracted users such as PTC Therapeutics and Passage Bio, has more than 1 million square feet of developable real estate for potential future expansion.
“Post-pandemic, life sciences companies are increasingly seeking locations near their customer base in the U.S., and we are thrilled that BeiGene has chosen our Princeton West Innovation Campus for its important work,” said Lance Bergstein, a managing director with LEG. “We’re proud to help attract global companies to New Jersey, especially when it results in new jobs and investment in the region.”
The Princeton West Innovation Campus is supported by a central utility complex, which provides wastewater management, generator-backed electricity, chilled water and steam, the news release said. On-site amenities include a full-service cafeteria, an 8,000-square-foot fitness center and a freestanding, 28,000-square-foot child development center, among other conference and amenity spaces.
Gene therapy company takes 62,000 sq. ft. at massive life sciences campus in Hopewell
