Courtesy Ivanhoé Cambridge Inc.

Ivanhoé Cambridge has announced a $500-million joint venture with Australian real estate investor Lendlease to deliver labs, offices and manufacturing spaces in high-growth life sciences clusters across the U.S.

Target cities for the developments and retrofits include Boston,  the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, the New York/New Jersey metropolitan region, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and Orange County.

“We are pleased to launch this new investment vehicle for new life science projects with a partner with whom we share the same vision and who has a proven track record of delivering high-quality sustainable innovative projects,” Jonathan Pearce, senior vice-president of leasing and development for Ivanhoé Cambridge North America, said in a statement.

“This partnership will also allow Ivanhoé Cambridge to expand its footprint in the life sciences sector, which has fundamental principles for long-term growth while supporting the strategic diversification of our portfolio.”

While the initial equity commitment is $500 million, the partners plan to expand the venture over time.

Ivanhoé Cambridge majority partner

Ivanhoé Cambridge will be the majority partner, while Lendlease will lead development and oversee construction on all projects.

“Together, we are uniquely positioned to deliver state-of-the-art lab, office and manufacturing space while expanding development capabilities in a high-growth asset class,” said Denis Hickey, Lendlease’s global COO and CEO of the Americas in a statement.

The announcement builds on a partnership which was first announced in March 2021.

At that time, Ivanhoé Cambridge and Lendlease released details of their first co-development project, 60 Guest Street in Boston, which is scheduled to break ground this spring and is to complete in 2024.

The nine-storey, 320,000-square-foot, 1.15-acre life sciences facility in the Boston Landing campus includes state-of-the-art lab and office space as well as an amenity program.

Boston Landing is home to New Balance’s global headquarters, the Boston Celtics’ Auerbach Center and the Boston Bruins’ Warrior Ice Arena, as well as an indoor track and entertainment venue, lab/office and residential uses and a planned 175-room hotel.

Upon completion, the project is expected to have a $500 million value.

About Ivanhoé Cambridge, Lendlease

Through subsidiaries and partnerships, Ivanhoé Cambridge holds interests in more than 1,100 buildings, primarily in the industrial and logistics, office, residential and retail sectors. It held $60.4 billion in real estate assets at the end of 2020.

At the end of January, the company announced some structural changes, beginning with a reorganization into five global hubs: United States and Latin America; Canada; Quebec; Europe; and Asia-Pacific.

Earlier this month, it also announced a joint investment with the Netherlands-based pension fund APG. They are partnering in Taronga Ventures’ RealTech Ventures I built environment technology fund, which is based in Australia and Singapore. Both became partners in Taronga Ventures’ ESG impact innovation program, being implemented across Asia over the next two years.

Ivanhoé Cambridge is the real estate subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

To date, Lendlease has completed construction on more than 500 life science facilities in the U.S., totalling approximately 18 million square feet. These include new buildings, renovations and conversions on laboratories as well as large-scale production plants.

Lendlease is headquartered in Sydney, Australia with 10,800 employees across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Aside from life science, the company invests in arts & culture, aviation, commercial, education, energy, government, healthcare, hotels & resorts, industrial, military communities, mixed-use, multi-site, residential, senior living, transportation and urban regeneration.