“These companies, they don’t want to buy green bananas, they want to see it done and be able to move into it and be ready to go.”
Steven Davis
President and Chief Operating Officer
J. Small Investments
… on what life science companies are looking for, at Bisnow’s Future of DFW Life Sciences Summit.
When it comes to lab space, life sciences companies aren’t interested in waiting for their fruit to ripen. They want it ready to eat—or in this case, ready to occupy, according to Steven Davis of J. Small Investments.
“You’ve got to take some risk from a real estate perspective of having those facilities in place because they have to move fast,” he said at Bisnow’s recent Future of DFW Life Sciences Summit. Davis and other panelists, including JLL Managing Director Ethan Garner and Admiral Legacy CEO Ese Aihie, discussed the critical factors attracting life sciences companies to North Texas.
Steve Davis, J. Small Investments
Davis, whose company transformed a former ExxonMobil campus into the 25-acre Pegasus Park life sciences hub, knows a thing or two about what industry tenants crave. With the typical startup lifecycle at BioLabs clocking in at just 18 months, there’s no time for green bananas to yellow. A 135,000-square-foot research and development facility—Bridge Labs—is set to open later this year, more than tripling the campus’s lab space.
But creating that perfect bunch of lab space isn’t just about having the right real estate. Davis emphasized the importance of being near research institutions and fostering collaboration. It’s a fruit salad of factors, if you will.
As DFW climbs in the ranks of life science hubs, Davis and others are working on not only expanding lab space, but attracting venture capital and strengthening ties with local universities, according to Bisnow.
Davis predicted a “snowball effect” of success over the next three to ten years, with institutional investors establishing “outposts” in Dallas to be part of the growing industry.
For more of who said what about all things North Texas, check out Every Last Word.
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