North Texas is solidifying its role as a leader in life sciences innovation with the opening of Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park in Dallas.

The new 135,000-square-foot facility, spread across two floors and connected by a skywalk to the 18-story office tower on the Pegasus Park campus, offers much-needed institutional-quality lab space to meet the area’s growing demand as a biotech hub, leaders said at a ribbon-cutting earlier today. 

Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park is at right with the campus’s 18-story office tower literally bridged to it on the left. [Photo: Mauricio Rojas]

The 26-acre Pegasus Park campus already hosts a mix of life sciences companies, nonprofits, and educational institutions. Adding Bridge Labs means biotech companies can now grow their businesses without leaving the campus, said Steve Davis, president of J. Small Investments. “Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park provides companies with the ability to grow their businesses, add members to their staff, and increase their footprint without having to leave the Pegasus Park campus,” Davis said in a statement. “We’re grateful to the city of Dallas, investors, and our partners for making this possible.”

The driving force behind Pegasus Park’s vision is Lyda Hill, whose philanthropy has been instrumental in transforming the region into a life sciences hub. Her commitment to innovation can be seen across every part of the campus.

At the grand opening of Bridge Labs earlier today, Lyda Hill set the tone for the event with her opening remarks. “I’m thrilled to see North Texas become an established hub for life sciences, and this new facility is a testament to the growing excitement for the most innovative companies to put roots right here in our region,” she said.

Bridge Labs: Meeting the demand for biotech space 

Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park [Photo: 2024 RW Collective]

The demand for lab space in North Texas seems undeniable.

Nicole Small, CEO of Lyda Hill Philanthropies, followed up on Hill’s remarks by explaining how quickly Bridge Labs came together. “The buildout of Bridge Labs, which we thought would take years to come to fruition, happened much faster thanks to the success of the team at BioLabs,” she said. The rapid success of BioLabs—which filled its space in record time—helped accelerate the development of Bridge Labs.

“Thanks to you all at BioLabs, we filled the space in 15 minutes, which we thought would take five years,” Small noted.

With Bridge Labs now open, the Pegasus Park campus provides a pipeline of support for life science companies. Early-stage companies at BioLabs can scale up and continue their growth at Bridge Labs, which provides dedicated lab and office space tailored to their expanding needs. Small also pointed out that Pegasus Park’s partnerships with MassChallenge and Health Wildcatters provide startups with the mentorship, investment, and resources needed to thrive in today’s competitive life sciences environment.

“It’s one-of-a-kind in the region,” Small said.

According to Pegasus Park, Bridge Labs complements the existing 37,000-square-foot biotechnology startup community at BioLabs Pegasus Park, which opened on the campus in 2022, by providing scale-up fully built-out graduation space and individual private lab/office suites.

Celebrating the opening of Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park. [Photo: Dallas Innovates]

Features of the new facility and incentives

“[This] is our first best-in-class commercial Life Sciences building,” Small said.

The new facility features laboratory space with best-in-class specifications, including upgraded power, backup generator capacity, HVAC and gas service, state-of-the-art amenities, shared spaces and equipment, and prebuilt laboratory suites that provide the tools and flexible space life science companies need.

Purpose-built shell laboratory space accommodates users up to 60,000 square feet, and prebuilt lab suites range from 4,500 to 8,000 square feet, according to Pegasus Park. Layouts vary based on the different needs of start-ups and established life sciences companies.

Office spaces at Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park. [Photo: Dallas Innovates]

The city of Dallas provided economic incentives and tax abatements for the project.

“Pegasus Park, BioLabs, and now Bridge Labs are crucial parts of an economic engine, driving highly desirable STEM jobs to Dallas and West Dallas while fostering significant innovation across the life sciences,” Dallas City Council Member Omar Narvaez said. “We’re investing in the potential of our community, and I have no doubt that this facility will be a hub of discovery and progress in solutions for human health for years to come.”

At the event, Narvaez celebrated Pegasus Park as a solution to social and economic challenges, turning a once-neglected part of the city into a thriving innovation hub. The excitement in the room was palpable when he shared his early involvement in the project, recalling how quickly he recognized its potential: “In 10 seconds, I said, ‘I’m in. … Let’s do it.'”

Narvaez, who represents District 6, spoke candidly about the radical transformation of the area around Pegasus Park. “When you first got here, this area was dead. It was empty, crime, all kinds of bad things happening,” he said. “And I can tell you, once you start moving—a little bit of activity—we don’t always need more police officers. What we need is to build things people can do—that they can go to work, that they can feed their families, that they can take care of the business they need to take care of, and do the work that they believe in.”

A wall at Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park. [Photo: Dallas Innovates]

Dallas City Council District 8 representative and Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins noted the public-private partnership that made Bridge Labs possible: “Public-private partnerships … You cannot be a great city if you do not share and benefit from the financial work being done,” Atkins said, pointing out the $3 million in taxpayer contributions that helped bring the project to life. He highlighted how projects like Bridge Labs are driving job creation and innovation, keeping Dallas competitive on the national stage.

“You never imagined this project would be here. You never thought it would be here,” Atkins said. He emphasized that Bridge Labs is a key driver of progress for Dallas, adding, “This is where real solutions for healthcare will be discovered—right here in Dallas, a can-do city, with financial and worldwide opportunities, and one of the fastest-growing regions in the world.”

“We’re the center of America,” Narvaez said, echoing Atkins’ sentiments, “which is the center of the world, and I can tell you everything that’s happening right here, right now, right in this spot, is the entire future of healthcare and everything when it comes to research.”

A wall at Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park. [Photo: Dallas Innovates]

Driving growth in North Texas life sciences

The Bridge Labs facility is expected to be a major driver of life sciences growth in North Texas. Sam Johnson, principal at Montgomery Street Partners, emphasized the opportunities that the lab space brings to the science community.

“We’re confident that Bridge Labs will continue to attract life sciences and healthcare companies and institutions to our region, resulting in additional intellectual capital, top-quality and high-paying technical jobs, and an increase in access to cutting-edge science,” Johnson said in a statement.

Pegasus Park is a “neutral convener for North Texas’ intellectual capital,” offering a setting where biotech companies, investors, accelerators, higher education institutions, and social impact organizations can co-locate and collaborate. The campus supports numerous accelerator programs, providing access to mentorship, residency programs, and a global network of experts to help startups grow.

A billion-dollar economic driver with long-term impact

According to a recent economic and fiscal impact report by The Perryman Group, a leading economic and financial analysis firm, at full masterplan build-out, the operations of entities at Pegasus Park are anticipated to generate a projected $1.9 billion in annual gross product and 15,180 jobs in the Dallas area. It’s estimated that the construction of Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park will generate nearly $105.5 million in gross product and about 965 job years.

At full master plan buildout, The Perryman Group said it projects that recent, current, and future construction at Pegasus Park will yield $936 million in gross product and 8,560 job years in the Dallas area.

The recognition of Texas—and the region—as a life sciences hub was further solidified in 2023 when the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) selected Dallas’ Pegasus Park as the headquarters for its Customer Experience Hub, one of three key hub locations in the U.S.

Ribbon-cutting ceremony for Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park. [Photo: Dallas Innovates]

Bridge Labs is a Texas milestone

At the state level, State Representative Venton Jones highlighted the impressive growth in Texas’ biotech ecosystem. In the past five years, Texas has attracted $90 billion in private capital investments, with $4.4 billion directed toward life sciences, 72% of which came from out-of-state investors.

“The opening of Bridge Labs is a significant milestone for our state’s biotech ecosystem,” he said. “As companies large and small seek to relocate and expand to Texas, this new facility will offer quality space that is ready to house those innovators and surround them with a thriving community of other entrepreneurs, business leaders, accelerators, investors, universities, health systems, and nonprofit organizations.”

Jones also pointed out that with Pegasus Park’s proximity to leading research institutions like UT Southwestern Medical Center, Parkland Hospital, and Children’s Medical Center, the campus is ideally situated for “life sciences to flourish.”

“This groundbreaking work here will have a direct impact on the lives not only in Texas but across our nation. So as we continue to invest in research and development, spaces like Bridge Lab will play a pivotal role in bringing groundbreaking discoveries to life and improving the quality of healthcare across our state.”

A wall at Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park. [Photo: Dallas Innovates]

A billion-dollar economic driver with long-term impact

As Pegasus Park continues to establish itself as a hub for innovation, the teams behind Bridge Labs success include co-developers Montgomery Street Partners and J. Small Investments, with Perkins + Will as the architect, Swinerton as the contractor, and support from Project Management Advisors. JLL serves as the leasing agent for the new facility.

“It takes a village, frankly,” said Murray McCabe of Montgomery Street Partners, one of the co-developers of Bridge Labs and Pegasus Park, as he closed the event by highlighting the long-term impact of the project. He credited the vision behind Pegasus Park’s transformation, saying, “Without [J. Small’s] pioneering mindset to acquire and repurpose a dormant corporate campus, this would not have been possible.”

McCabe emphasized the world-class nature of Bridge Labs, comparing it to leading facilities in major biotech hubs. “We do deal with lab spaces around the country, and there’s no doubt that this is equal to anything you’d find in Boston, New York, or say San Diego.”

More looks at Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park

Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park [Photo: 2024 RW Collective]

A lab space at Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park. [Photo: Dallas Innovates]

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