Longfellow Makes West Coast Play with Life Science Portfolio Purchase

BOSTON–The Boston-based Investment firm, Longfellow Real Estate Partners continues to grow its tech and life sciences portfolio into one of the nation’s largest and most formidable technology areas with the acquisition of the “Inspire campus” in San Diego.

The campus is made up of 12 assets, totaling 318,969 sf, and is a key part of the tech and life science cluster thriving in and around the Sorrento Valley. Longfellow acquired Inspire from Parallel Capital Partners, which was represented by Nick Frasco, Nick Psyllos and Michael Leggett of HFF. “The Inspire portfolio represents an exceptionally rare opportunity to acquire a critical mass of institutional-quality life science product that offers the ability to continue a successful value-add life science conversion plan,” says HFF’s Frasco. “The portfolio affords the ability to establish a meaningful presence in the Nation’s third-largest life science market and capitalize on tremendous growth potential in the region driven by more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, 80 research institutes, and more than 7,000 STEM graduates annually.”

The acquisition increases Longfellow’s portfolio to more than 3 million SF of tech and life sciences space owned and under management in innovation hubs such as San Diego, Greater Boston, Philadelphia and North Carolina’s Research Triangle region. Longfellow’s Massachusetts assets include 1 Patriots Park, a key part of Bedford’s science and technology cluster.

Jessica Brock, Partner at Longfellow Real Estate Partners says it is all part of their master plan to grow the category and increase presence. “We at Longfellow are thrilled to bring our expertise, creativity and collaborative approach to San Diego. Our entrance here was the strategic next step in our growth as a leading life sciences developer. We deliberately set our sights on San Diego for its prestigious reputation as a life sciences cluster, and we look forward to future growth on the West Coast,” she related.”

In a release, Longfellow described its campus purchase. Currently, the campus includes 107,000 SF of lab space. Longfellow plans to convert a significant portion of the remaining space to labs as well. The company will also implement its proprietary services and amenities package, Elevate, which aims to redefine workplaces with lifestyle perks. Approximately 32,000 SF is immediately available at Inspire, which also includes the Global Coffee Trading for java and New English Brewing Company for craft beer. The company is nestled near the Coaster commuter rail as well as eateries and gyms.

Invesco Real Estate, a global real estate investment manager, has originated a senior loan facility to Longfellow for the acquisition. Charlie Rose, Senior Director, Structured the deal. “Longfellow is representative of the type of sophisticated borrowers who have found Invesco’s flexible and nimble lending platform to be accretive. We are thrilled to have worked with Longfellow and HFF as we continue to expand our lending platform nationally.