Breakthrough Properties Buys Biomanufacturing Campus in Everett, Secures Lease

Los Angeles-based Breakthrough Properties, a global life-science real estate developer, today announced it has acquired a biomanufacturing facility at 215 Shuksan Way in Everett and secured a separate 21-year lease for the entire campus with an undisclosed global biopharma company to create a U.S. manufacturing facility.

Breakthrough, a joint venture of Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital, bought the 270,000-square-foot property at 215 Shuksan Way for $78 million. It’s its first investment in the Puget Sound region, it noted in a news release.

The site was designed for fully integrated, end-to-end manufacturing. It offers a full range of capabilities and amenities, from drug manufacturing, quality-control labs, and warehouse and distribution logistics to administrative office spaces and an onsite café, the release said. The site was originally leased to a biotechnology company that had invested approximately $350 million to build out a biomanufacturing facility but never moved in after being acquired in 2023.

While not named in the release, Bothell-based Seagen Inc. was building the campus but never occupied it after its $43-billion acquisition by Pfizer Inc. When Pfizer stopped construction in early 2024, it said medicines Seagen intended to produce at the new plant would be manufactured in North Carolina, which was being expanded and had the necessary capacity, the Seattle Times reported at the time. Meanwhile, the Bothell site is one of Pfizer’s newest major R&D hubs following its acquisition of Seagen, according to Pfizer’s website.

Breakthrough Properties said its Everett deal exemplifies its growing focus on investing in U.S. biomanufacturing infrastructure, part of more than $600 billion of recent onshoring commitments made by major pharmaceutical companies to strengthen domestic supply chains, it said.

“This transaction is emblematic of Breakthrough’s unique value proposition,” Breakthrough Properties CEO Dan Belldegrun said in the release. “We identified an opportunity to unlock near-term value from a newly delivered, state-of-the-art facility by leveraging our global relationship network to seamlessly execute multiple agreements that created a positive outcome for all parties involved. We are thrilled about the next chapter for this world-class facility and to support our partners in achieving their strategic business objectives.”

Breakthrough says it’s one of the most active life-science real estate firms with a portfolio that spans 6 million square feet of premier environments in operation and in the development pipeline across the United States and Europe.

It listed notable Breakthrough properties as including One Milestone, its recently completed life-science environment anchored by the Roche Genentech Innovation Center at the new Harvard Enterprise Research Campus; Torrey Heights, a 10-acre San Diego life-science campus that serves as the headquarters for Pfizer’s oncology division; and One Helix, a state-of-the-art research facility in Amsterdam, which is fully leased to AstraZeneca.