Office-to-Life-Science Conversions: U.S. Market Trends, Deals, and Outlook

Introduction

The post-pandemic era has reshaped commercial real estate, giving rise to office-to-lab real estate conversions as a compelling solution for underutilized offices. High office vacancies and surging demand for life science space are driving this trend. This comprehensive report explores the U.S. life science conversion market – from key geographic hotspots and financial metrics to design challenges and future outlook – tailored for investors, developers, brokers, and life science venture capitalists. It also highlights how a Live Conversion Tracker database can add value by deep-linking into real-time project data.

Market Overview: Post-COVID Trends Driving Life Science Conversions

In the wake of COVID-19, many companies embraced remote and hybrid work, pushing U.S. office vacancy rates to record highs (nearly 19–20% nationally as of 2023). At the same time, the life sciences sector received unprecedented investment – over $70 billion in private and public capital in 2020–2021 – fueling a boom in biotech and lab space requirement. This mismatch (empty offices vs. lab space demand) has prompted owners to repurpose traditional offices into research facilities. By mid-2021, more than 20% of new laboratory space in top U.S. markets was coming from office conversions, signaling a major adaptive-reuse movement. Lab space became a bright spot: across markets like San Francisco and Boston, asking rents for lab space climbed over 60% between 2016–2021, far outpacing office rent growth. In short, post-COVID life sciences CRE investment surged as labs emerged as the answer to office oversupply.

Leading Life Science Clusters and Demand

Certain geographic clusters have led the office-to-lab conversion wave, thanks to strong biotech ecosystems and tight lab space availability:

• Boston–Cambridge (Massachusetts): The nation’s premier life science hub, anchored by Kendall Square’s biotech cluster, has seen record demand – roughly double pre-COVID levels in 2021. An estimated 4 million sq. ft. of downtown Boston offices (and 8.1 million sq. ft. metro-wide) have been converted to labs to meet this demand. Venture capital and NIH funding flooded into Boston (nearly $40 billion in 2021), driving lab requirements. Lab vacancy rates, near 0% at the peak of 2021–2022, have since risen as new supply delivers – reaching the high teens by 2024 (about 18.4% lab vacancy in Q3 2024 amid oversupply). Still, Boston’s office-to-lab conversion trend remains strong, enabled by sky-high lab rents (often $90–$115 per sq. ft. NNN in Cambridge/Boston) and robust tenant demand.

• San Francisco Bay Area (California): Another top cluster, including South San Francisco (“BioTech Bay”), has aggressively converted offices to labs. The Bay Area saw lab rents jump ~60% since 2016 while office rents rose only ~15–30%sior.com, illustrating the rent premium for life science space. Post-pandemic, San Francisco’s office vacancy spiked to ~28.4% – among the nation’s highest – prompting city initiatives to encourage conversions and revitalization. Life science construction in the Bay Area hit record levels in 2023–24, resulting in oversupply and record-high lab vacancies in 2024. Nevertheless, core submarkets like South SF continue to attract conversion projects (e.g. 651 Gateway Blvd, discussed below) given the region’s deep biotech talent pool. The Bay Area’s proximity to top research universities (Stanford, UCSF, UC Berkeley) ensures that lab space development remains a long-term priority, even as the market works through a short-term glut.

• San Diego (California): Home to the renowned Torrey Pines and La Jolla research clusters, San Diego consistently ranks top-three for life sciences. Office-to-lab conversions accelerated here as well, capitalizing on historically tight lab vacancies and rising rents. Similar to Boston and SF, San Diego experienced 60%+ growth in lab rents in recent years while office rates lagged far behind. Post-2020, developers raced to add lab space via both ground-up projects and conversions in submarkets like Sorrento Mesa and University Town Center. By late 2024, San Diego too faced headwinds from new supply – joining Boston and SF with higher vacancy and some downward rent pressure. Even so, San Diego’s strong biotech base (UCSD, Scripps, etc.) suggests conversions will persist selectively, especially for well-located older offices in the golden triangle now repositioned for pharma and genomics companies.

• Raleigh–Durham (North Carolina): The Research Triangle has emerged as an important secondary hub, combining academic R&D (Duke, UNC, NC State) with growing biotech firms. Life science real estate in Raleigh-Durham has shown more balance, avoiding the extreme tightness and subsequent oversupply of the coastal hubs. Mid-sized markets like Raleigh-Durham have maintained decent availability and only moderate rent changes, making conversions less feverish but still attractive. Several developers (e.g., Longfellow, East End Market) have converted offices or flex buildings into lab space in RTP. The region’s lab vacancy remains healthier and demand steady, so investors see opportunity in adaptive reuse without the froth of Boston/SF. As one broker noted, even smaller markets are “beginning to feel” the need for conversions as their incubator companies scale up. Raleigh’s collaborative tech and pharma community, plus lower costs, position it as a rising star for office-to-life-science conversions in the South Atlantic.

Other markets also worth mentioning include Seattle, the Washington D.C.–Maryland corridor, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, which all host growing life science clusters and have seen notable conversion projects. Even non-traditional markets like Gainesville, FL or Columbus, OH are exploring conversions to foster local biotech growth. Overall, geography plays a key role: conversions concentrate where life science talent and funding exist, and where office oversupply creates an opening. The common thread is that life science real estate fundamentals (low vacancies, high rents during the boom) have been far stronger than those of general offices, making lab redevelopment an appealing reuse strategy.

Deals and Financial Metrics: Life Science CRE Investment Trends

Major real estate players have been driving office-to-lab conversion deals, ranging from publicly traded REITs to private equity-backed developers. A notable example is Boston Properties (BXP) partnering with Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE) – the nation’s largest life science REIT – in a 50/50 joint venture to convert a 327,000 sq. ft. office campus at 651 Gateway Blvd. in South San Francisco into lab space. The project, set to open in 2024, has already pre-leased multiple floors to biotech tenants, demonstrating investor confidence in conversions in core markets. In Cambridge, MA, Blackstone (via its affiliate BioMed Realty) won approval in 2025 to convert a five-story office building near MIT into a modern lab facility (60% lab/40% office) – a move that will revitalize an underused property with life science tenants. Even outside the traditional hubs, experienced firms are jumping in: Thor Equities recently repositioned a historic office building at 95 Greene Street in Jersey City into the city’s first lab-ready life sciences property, betting on expansion of the New York-area biotech footprint.

Investors in these conversions typically fall into two categories. First are the established life science developers/investors – groups like Alexandria, BioMed Realty (Blackstone), Healthpeak Properties, Ventas, Oxford Properties, and Hines – who seek to expand in top clusters and have the expertise to execute complex lab projects. Second are office owners in distress (or with obsolete buildings) who see conversion as a way to improve occupancy and add value. Often, the most successful projects combine both: for example, an office landlord partners with a life science specialist in a joint venture, blending local asset knowledge with technical development know-how. These partnerships also help with the capital stack, as conversions carry heavy CapEx requirements. It’s common to see institutional capital (pension funds, private equity) teaming up with developers in joint ventures to fund conversion projects, alongside construction loans. Recent financing deals include suburban office-to-lab redevelopments securing refinancing packages on the order of $100–$150 million, illustrating the significant capital involved in this niche.

Conversion Economics – CapEx and Returns: A key driver of the conversion trend is that it can be cheaper and faster than ground-up lab development. Building a brand-new life science facility in top markets like Boston or San Diego can cost $675–$1,200 per sq. ft. (core and shell) plus another $300–$650 per sq. ft. for specialized lab interiors. In contrast, office-to-lab conversions cost on average about $300 per sq. ft. including tenant improvements – roughly half or less of new construction cost. The table below compares new development versus conversion:

Development Approach	Typical Timeline (Entitlements to Delivery)	Total Cost (per sq. ft.)
Ground-Up Lab Construction (Boston/SF/SD)	~5–7 years (lengthy approvals & build)	$675–$1,200 for core shell + $300–$650 for lab fit-out
Office-to-Lab Conversion	~2–3 years (expedited reuse process)	~$300 for conversion incl. lab improvements

Table: New lab development vs. conversion – conversions offer faster delivery and roughly 50%+ cost savings in major markets.

Not only are conversions more capital-efficient, but they also tap into significant rent upside. Life science tenants pay a substantial rent premium compared to office users – often 1.5× to 2.5× higher rents in the same location. For instance, lab space in the Boston area can command around $90–$100 per sq. ft. NNN (triple-net) in rent, whereas nearby Class A offices might lease for $50–$60 per sq. ft. gross. In Cambridge’s Kendall Square, lab rents even reach $110+ NNN in peak times. These higher cash flows, coupled with long lease terms (life science leases typically run 7–15 years vs. ~5–7 years for offices), make the investment math attractive. Converted lab buildings also trade at rich valuations, as investors prize the stable occupancy and growth prospects of life sciences. In Boston, new or converted lab properties have sold for $1,700–$1,800 per sq. ft. (with ~$100/sf rents), reflecting cap rates significantly lower than traditional offices. In fact, life science real estate often sees cap rates 0.5–1.0% lower than general office in recent years, meaning higher prices for the same income stream.

All these factors – lower per-square-foot cost, faster delivery to market, higher rents, and strong valuations – contribute to robust expected yields on conversion projects. Developers can justify the heavy CapEx because a successful lab conversion may achieve 20–30% higher NOI and value than the building’s former office use. Expected stabilized yields (cash yield on cost) for office-to-lab conversions often land in the high single digits, which is very compelling in a low-interest environment (though rising rates in 2023–2024 have tightened spreads somewhat). Many conversions are effectively re-valuing a distressed office at, say, $200/sf and turning it into a lab asset worth $800+/sf upon lease-up – a lucrative arbitrage for those who can execute. Of course, these returns assume leasing success, which is why having the right partners and sufficient tenant demand (or even pre-leases) is critical.

Funding and Capital Stack: Office-to-life-science conversions typically require complex financing structures. Alongside developer equity and conventional debt, projects may tap alternative funding sources such as mezzanine financing or preferred equity, especially given the specialized build-out costs. Some municipalities have offered incentives for conversions (mostly for residential reuse, but a few life science projects have benefitted from tax abatements or fast-tracked permits in life science zones). In many cases, large conversions are done via joint ventures – for example, a life science REIT teaming with a local developer, or a private equity fund backing a specialized operating partner – to share risk and bring both capital and expertise to the table. A strong capital stack might include senior construction loans (often from banks with life science lending arms), plus equity from institutional investors (sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, etc.) looking for exposure to life sciences. As an illustration, BXP and Alexandria’s JV in South San Francisco not only pooled expertise but also presumably split a sizable equity commitment (likely tens of millions) to retrofit the asset. Meanwhile, Blackstone’s BioMed has leveraged its $20+ billion portfolio and parent’s capital to acquire office properties (such as Cambridge’s 350 Mass Ave) for conversion, often as part of larger portfolio deals. We’re also seeing some life science venture capital firms indirectly supporting the real estate: for example, by guaranteeing leases for their startup incubatees or partnering in lab incubator spaces, thus de-risking conversion projects for developers.

In summary, the financial landscape of office-to-lab conversions is characterized by big upfront investments but potentially bigger payoffs. Established life science landlords and institutional investors are increasingly selective in 2025 – focusing on the best locations and partners – yet they remain bullish on the sector’s fundamentals. As the next section discusses, however, the technical complexity of conversions means not every office building (nor every investor) is cut out for this game.

Architectural and Design Considerations in Lab Space Development

Converting an office building into a functional laboratory facility is a far more complex undertaking than a standard office renovation. Life science labs have stringent technical requirements that demand significant upgrades to a building’s infrastructure. Below are some of the key architectural and design considerations that developers and architects must address:

• Structural Capacity & Layout: Laboratories house heavy equipment (freezers, centrifuges, incubators) and often dense utilities. Thus, floors must support much higher loads – ideally 125–150 pounds per sq. ft. floor loading capacity (compared to ~80–100 psf in typical offices). Floors also need vibration control (to not disturb sensitive instruments). Building columns and grids can pose challenges; an open floor plate with sufficient column spacing (one guideline suggests 11 ft or more between structural members) is preferred. If an existing office has closely spaced columns or insufficient live load capacity, structural retrofits (like steel reinforcement) are required – adding cost and complexity.

• Ceiling Heights: Labs demand taller floor-to-ceiling heights to accommodate large air ducts, specialized equipment, and utility trays. A clearance of 14 to 16 feet floor-to-ceiling is often needed, versus perhaps 9–10 ft in older offices. Many Class B/C offices (especially those built in the 1970s–1980s) have low slab-to-slab heights that make lab conversion impractical without major modifications. Developers sometimes cope by removing a floor (to create interstitial space) or adding rooftop penthouses for mechanical equipment. But if you have a vintage office with only 10 ft floor-to-floor height, achieving lab specs could require over $1,200 per sq. ft. in upgrades (per one Boston broker) – essentially rebuilding the core systems, which may not be economically feasible.

• Mechanical (HVAC) Systems: A hallmark of lab space is robust HVAC for ventilation, air quality, and safety. Labs need high air exchange rates and often 100% outside air capability (no recirculation) for fume control. This means installing powerful supply and exhaust systems, chemical fume hoods, HEPA filtration, and sometimes negative-pressure rooms. Existing office HVAC is usually undersized, so conversions add large rooftop units, ductwork, and exhaust risers. For multi-story conversions, architects may use old elevator shafts or new vertical penetrations to run ducts through the building. According to CBRE, office-to-lab projects require HVAC that can run 24/7 and handle specialized ventilation needs – a big cost driver. High-efficiency ventilation and exhaust systems (with backup fans) are essential. All these additions often require structural support and vibration isolation (to prevent mechanical equipment from shaking the building). It’s common to sacrifice some interior space for mechanical rooms, or append mechanical annexes to the structure.

• Plumbing and Lab Utilities: Unlike offices, labs have extensive plumbing for sinks, safety showers, lab waste drainage, and specialty gases. Conversions must install sand traps and acid-neutralization tanks for lab waste, eyewash stations and emergency showers on every lab floor, and in many cases, piped gases (nitrogen, CO₂, vacuum lines). Older offices likely lack adequate plumbing risers and drainage capacity, so coring through slabs and adding pipes is necessary. CBRE notes that labs also need enhanced plumbing for safety fixtures and lab sinks – a significant difference from standard offices. Additionally, provisions for clean steam, purified water, or other research utilities might be needed depending on the lab type (e.g. tissue culture labs need purified water systems).

• Electrical and Power Backup: Life science facilities are power-hungry. A conversion should upgrade the building’s electrical service to roughly double a normal office load – one expert notes labs require ~4,000 watts per 1,000 sq. ft., versus ~2,000 W/1,000 sf in offices. This often entails new electrical feeders, transformers, and subpanels. More critically, labs usually demand backup power: on-site emergency generators and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems to keep experiments safe in outages. Converting an office might involve installing a generator (diesel or natural gas) on the roof or a pad, along with transfer switches and possibly battery storage for critical systems. These systems must run 24/7 in an emergency, which introduces fuel storage and noise considerations (and zoning permits for generators). Ensuring the building can handle continuous power and climate control (for laboratory freezers, samples, etc.) is a non-negotiable design criterion.

• Life Safety and Security: Labs fall under different code requirements (often a higher hazard category) than offices. Conversions need enhanced fire protection (e.g. fire-rated storage rooms for flammable chemicals, upgraded sprinklers, specialty fire alarms with gas leak detection). They also often require controlled access and security measures, since labs may handle sensitive materials or IP. This can include keycard systems, lab-only zones, and 24-hour monitoring. Some labs (like BSL-2 or BSL-3 biosafety labs) have very specific containment needs – an office conversion to those levels would be extremely involved (sealed rooms, specialized HVAC filtration, etc.). Zoning can be a hurdle too: some cities need variances or special permits to allow R&D or manufacturing use in an office zone. Architects and engineers must navigate these regulatory aspects during design.

Adaptive Reuse Strategies: Given the above requirements, it’s clear that not every office building is a good candidate for lab conversion. Architects first assess a building’s “bones” – structure, floorplate, location – to see if it meets the “critical criteria” for labs. According to Gensler’s guidelines, the ideal building has: wide column spacing, strong floors, tall ceilings, large shafts for HVAC, and room for loading docks. Buildings that check most of these boxes can often be converted cost-effectively. For example, many 1980s suburban offices with big floorplates and high floor-to-floor heights (originally built for tech or telecom, perhaps) are good candidates – they might already have robust power or extra cooling capacity from past uses. On the other hand, an old 1960s office tower with a 10-foot slab height and slender structure may be too prohibitive to retrofit (those often end up candidates for teardown or residential conversion instead).

One creative approach in conversions is to mix lab and office space within the building. Often a 50/50 or 60/40 lab-to-office ratio is used in designs. The lab areas get the heavy infrastructure, while the remaining portion stays as conventional office (for administrative staff, etc.). This balance can save cost and work with buildings that can’t support 100% lab coverage. For instance, a conversion might dedicate lower floors to labs (with easier access to loading and heavier floor capacity) and upper floors to offices or meeting spaces. Many conversions also happen in phases: one or two floors are converted to “spec” labs to attract a tenant, while other floors remain office until a lab user is ready. In multi-tenant office buildings, landlords sometimes convert only certain suites or one wing for labs, especially if ventilation capacity is limited. An example is in Chicago, where an older downtown multi-tenant building saw just its 13th floor turned into a food-testing lab facility for a tenant, while other floors stayed office.

Another tactic is to leverage flex/industrial spaces for life science use. Some life science companies – especially in biomanufacturing or “Stage II” growth phases – prefer single-story industrial buildings where they can have high ceilings and flexibly create cleanrooms or production labs. Developers in markets like Raleigh or Houston have converted warehouse-type buildings into GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) space or “biotech factories.” While not an office-to-lab conversion per se, it’s part of the same trend of repurposing existing stock for life sciences. These projects still face similar design needs (e.g., reinforcing the slab for heavy bioreactors, adding air handling and purity controls), but starting with an industrial “shell” can be easier in some ways (often high ceilings and ample power are already there).

Challenges with Class B/C Stock: As mentioned, older and lower-quality offices present the toughest conversions. Many are functionally obsolete – low ceilings, inadequate structure, poor layouts – making it extremely costly to meet lab specs. A Colliers specialist noted that in some aged offices, you “very rarely can retrofit existing space” to modern lab standards, especially due to things like post-COVID fresh air requirements needing bulky ductwork that just can’t fit. For these Class B/C buildings, owners often hesitate to invest millions in upgrades. Instead, one strategy has been to attract a life science tenant by offering cheap initial rent and letting the tenant fund the improvements. Essentially, the landlord concedes that the building is secondary, so they might sign a lease at a very low rate for a few years if the tenant agrees to build out their labs (sometimes with the help of tenant improvement allowances). This can be win-win: the company gets space without huge upfront cost of land, and the owner eventually gains a renovated building. However, it’s a risky approach – not many tenants want to sink money into someone else’s older facility unless it’s uniquely located or there are no alternatives. Thus, many functionally obsolete offices are being left out of the life science boom entirely, and instead, demolition or other uses (like residential conversions) may be their fate.

In summary, converting offices to labs requires marrying creative design solutions with heavy infrastructure investment. Experienced design-build teams are essential – those who understand the end-users’ needs (biotech researchers) and can squeeze new systems into old shells. Successful conversions often involve “surgical” upgrades, such as threading new MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) systems through a building in the least disruptive way, or reinforcing discreet areas for equipment loads. It’s also about understanding the science: designing flexible labs that can adapt to different research (chemistry vs. biology vs. engineering) increases the marketability of the converted space. Many architects incorporate modular lab casework, demountable partitions, and future shaft space, so the building can accommodate tenant changes over time. As one architect put it, you don’t want to convert an office into a lab that’s so specialized it only suits the first tenant – it should be a broadly attractive lab facility for decades to come.

Risks and Outlook: Investment Challenges and Future Prospects

While the office-to-life-science conversion market offers attractive upsides, it is not without risks. Developers and investors must navigate market cycles, execution challenges, and potential pitfalls in this niche.

Market Risks – Oversupply and Cyclicality: After the frenzied expansion of 2020–2022, the life science real estate sector hit some turbulence by 2024. A sharp drop in biotech funding and hiring in late 2022/2023, combined with a surge of new lab deliveries, led to an oversupply of lab space in major markets. By Q2 2024, Boston, San Diego, and the Bay Area all saw record-high lab vacancies and negative net absorption. Nationwide, JLL estimated the U.S. had over 200 million sq. ft. of lab inventory, with 20–25 million sq. ft. needing to be absorbed to regain equilibrium. For context, CBRE reported nearly 41 million sq. ft. of new life science space (including conversions) under construction in mid-2023, with only ~25% pre-leased – meaning a lot of speculative space hunting for tenants. This oversupply is already pressuring rents in top markets (Boston, San Francisco, etc. saw asking lab rents slip in 2024). For developers, this translates to leasing risk: if you convert a building today, it may take longer to fill or achieve the hoped-for premium rent. Indeed, a few highly-touted conversions have struggled – for example, one Boston-area office-to-lab project sold in late 2023 at a steep discount (reportedly only one-third of its prior value) after failing to secure tenants post-conversion. Such outcomes can give investors pause.

The possibility of backfilling lab space with non-lab tenants is also a new twist. Some life science buildings delivered during the boom are now considering office or other uses for vacant space, essentially backtracking on the conversion trend. While this isn’t widespread, it underscores that lab demand, though strong long-term, can soften in the short term. Life science companies are subject to funding cycles; when biotech funding tightens (as in 2023), demand for new lab leases can stall. The risk for VCs investing in life science real estate is that their property might sit empty if the startup pipeline slows. However, many life science VC firms mitigate this by focusing on properties in core clusters and by supporting their portfolio companies’ occupancy.

Execution and Cost Risks: Conversions are complex projects with construction risk. Unforeseen issues (hidden conditions in an old building, delays in obtaining permits, supply chain lead times for lab equipment) can cause budgets to balloon. Construction costs have also risen 20–25% since pre-pandemic due to inflation and materials costs. Specialty lab equipment and materials (like air handlers, generators, or even lab casework) saw price jumps of 30–50% in recent years. So the CapEx estimates can quickly overshoot if not carefully managed. Developers must also account for tenant-specific build-outs: most lab tenants require custom improvements (layout of labs, installing their fume hoods, etc.), often funded via tenant improvement (TI) allowances. With rising fit-out costs (averaging $846 per sq. ft. for lab build-outs according to one 2025 cost guide), landlords are offering larger TI packages – CBRE noted an average 38% increase in TI allowances in key markets. This can erode the landlord’s yield if not offset by higher rents or longer leases.

Pre-leasing and Timing: A crucial strategic decision is whether to secure a tenant (or multiple tenants) before undertaking a conversion. Pre-leasing can significantly de-risk a project – if a pharma company signs on early, the developer can tailor the build-out and have assured income. However, many biotech firms, especially startups, don’t plan their real estate that far ahead; they often want ready-to-go “spec” lab space on short notice. This dynamic has led many developers to build lab space on spec (or convert speculatively), only to find leasing slower than expected when market conditions weaken. As noted, only about a quarter of the space under construction in 2023 was pre-leased, leaving a lot of new labs chasing tenants. For conversions, an additional wrinkle is timeline: turning an office into labs can take 18–36 months. If a developer starts without a tenant, they’re gambling that demand will be there upon completion. If market demand shifts during that window (which can happen in biotech, given the volatility of drug trial results, funding rounds, etc.), the project could deliver into a soft market. The carry cost of a vacant lab building is high – these facilities have significant operating expenses (security, HVAC, etc. must often run even without tenants, to keep systems functional). This is why some owners pause or delay conversions if pre-leasing isn’t tractioning. For instance, in Greater Boston, Alexandria Real Estate Equities halted a planned office-to-lab conversion mid-stream (Riverside Center in Newton) in 2023 and sold the property instead when it judged the market was overbuilt. Such strategic pivots highlight the need for caution.

Regulatory and Community Risks: Conversions can face community opposition or regulatory hurdles as well. Neighbors might object to a lab (due to hazmat concerns or noise from rooftop equipment). Zoning boards might impose limits on lab use or lengthy approval processes. Some cities are proactively easing regulations to spur conversions (e.g., San Francisco’s adaptive reuse program and NYC’s Office Conversion Accelerator), but others may not be as accommodating for life science (which can be seen as industrial use). Developers and investors must perform due diligence on zoning and environmental regulations (for instance, adding a lab may trigger more stringent environmental reviews).

Despite these risks, the general outlook for office-to-life-science conversions remains cautiously optimistic. Many experts believe current oversupply is a temporary correction rather than a long-term glut. The fundamental drivers – an aging population needing new therapies, biotech innovation in fields like gene editing and AI-driven drug discovery, and the inability to do lab work remotely – will continue to generate demand for lab space. One forecast by Hines researchers projected 33% to 50% growth in demand for life science properties over the next decade, which equates to tens of millions more square feet needed. While the sector might take a couple of years to absorb recent vacancies, growth is expected to resume as biotech funding cycles rebound. It’s worth noting that venture capital for life science, after an “enormous spike” in 2019–21, has normalized but still exceeds pre-2019 levels. This means there is plenty of capital to fuel new startups and expansions – just deployed more carefully. Those new companies will eventually require lab space.

Additionally, the flight to quality in real estate applies here: the best-located, best-designed lab buildings are still attracting tenants and investors. As JLL observed, well-capitalized landlords with modern lab product are out-leasing the competition. Older or poorly located conversions might face distress (and indeed could become acquisition targets for opportunistic investors). But Class A conversions in prime clusters should hold value. Even in an oversupplied market, life science tenants tend to cluster in top locations and near anchor institutions, so a conversion in the right spot (e.g., adjacent to a major research university or hospital) is likely to outperform. We’re also seeing some lab space being taken by new industries like advanced computing (AI) companies, which crave the high power and robust infrastructure of lab buildings. This crossover demand could provide a safety net for lab landlords – for example, empty labs in San Francisco are now being considered by AI firms needing large computing space with strong power and cooling, effectively absorbing some surplus lab inventory.

From an investor’s perspective, life sciences CRE investment in conversions should be a long-term play. The current pause offers a chance to strategize: pick conversion projects that will be ready as the next wave of biotech growth hits, likely in a couple of years. It also underlines the importance of specialist teams: experienced life science developers (the first category of investors) tend to have better outcomes, and as Colliers notes, their projects are “usually low risk” because they choose the right buildings and execute well. As the sector matures, we may also see consolidation – larger firms acquiring struggling conversion projects or smaller developers. For VCs and stakeholders, the key is to balance the excitement of high rent premiums with sober assessments of demand timing and project feasibility. Those who do will likely find conversions to be a profitable niche for years to come, rather than a passing fad.

In conclusion, the office-to-lab conversion phenomenon appears to be more than a short-term fix; it’s part of a broader transformation of commercial real estate in response to economic and technological shifts. The outlook calls for steady growth in life science real estate needs (driven by healthcare and science imperatives), though tempered by short-term cycles. As one industry participant put it, “we’ll never not have demand for true life science space moving forward”sior.com – suggesting that quality lab space will remain scarce relative to the scientific demand, once the current surplus is worked through. Investors and developers who manage the interim risks stand to benefit from the next upswing in this dynamic market.

The Value of a Live Conversion Tracker for Investors and Brokers

Amid the fast-evolving office-to-life-science conversion landscape, having real-time data at your fingertips can be a game-changer. This is where a “Live Conversion Tracker” database proves its worth. Such a tracker – updated continuously with ongoing and planned conversion projects – is an invaluable resource for brokers, developers, investors, and VCs involved in lab space development and investment.

For Commercial Brokers: a live tracker means immediate access to supply pipeline information. Brokers can quickly identify which office buildings are being converted to labs, in what locations, and when they’ll deliver. This enables them to advise tenant clients looking for lab space well in advance. For example, if a biotech firm needs 50,000 sq. ft. in 18 months, a broker could consult the tracker to find all projects in the desired region that fit the timeframe and size – perhaps a conversion in San Diego slated to complete next year, or a Raleigh-Durham project in permitting stage that could be pre-leased. The ability to filter by region or stage (e.g., Boston area conversions under construction) saves countless hours of research. It also helps brokers identify new listings or sublease opportunities in converted buildings as they come online. Essentially, the tracker becomes a one-stop shop for market intelligence, replacing fragmented news searches or networking calls.

For Investors and Developers: the tracker provides a macro and micro view of the competition and opportunities. An investor can use it to scan, say, all conversions in the Bay Area with projected costs under $400/sf – revealing where the most cost-effective projects are, or which developers have a niche. Deep-linking into specific data, one could compare regional trends: e.g., see a table of vacant office square footage being converted to labs in Boston vs. San Francisco vs. lesser-known markets. This can inform strategic decisions like which markets might be overbuilt (if the tracker shows dozens of projects in one city) or where there’s a gap. For instance, if Philadelphia shows only a few conversions in progress despite strong life science growth, that might signal an opportunity for new investment. Conversely, if Boston shows 20+ active conversions finishing in the next year, an investor might anticipate rent competition and underwrite more conservatively.

A Live Conversion Tracker typically includes detailed project info: location, size, former use (Class A office, etc.), new life science specs, developers/partners, capital invested, current stage (announced, permitting, under construction, delivered), and even pre-leasing status. By deep-linking filters, users can generate custom lists such as “West Coast office-to-lab conversions over 100k sq. ft., delivering by 2025” or “Recently completed conversions with venture-backed tenants”. This level of detail helps life science VCs as well – they can track where their portfolio companies might find space or which developers are active in regions where they plan to expand a startup.

Moreover, the tracker’s interactive and up-to-date nature means it captures market turning points. If a project gets delayed or a developer pivots to a different use, the tracker can reflect that change (whereas static annual reports could lag by months). In volatile times, this immediacy is crucial. For example, during the 2024 oversupply, several projects nationally were put on hold or repurposed; a live database would show those status changes, preventing investors from assuming those square feet will hit the lab market.

From a networking and deal-making standpoint, the tracker also identifies the key players in each conversion. Users can see patterns like “Big REITs behind 60% of conversions in New England” or “These five architects/GCs are handling most of the lab retrofit work in California.” Such insights are useful for assembling project teams or finding experienced partners. If a developer in Chicago wants to attempt their first lab conversion, they might consult the tracker to find which contractors have done similar projects in the Midwest, then reach out to those firms. Brokers might find new leasing leads by seeing which conversions are still lacking tenants and contacting those owners.

Finally, the Live Conversion Tracker underscores the broader value of data transparency in the life sciences CRE niche. It brings together disparate data – from public filings, press releases, industry reports – into a cohesive, searchable tool. By using the tracker, stakeholders can base decisions on hard data rather than guesswork. For example, an investor can quantify how many lab conversion projects are in a city’s pipeline relative to its historical absorption. Or a lender can quickly pull comps on conversion costs to vet a borrower’s budget (e.g., if most projects in the tracker show ~$300/sf and one proposal is $500/sf, that raises questions).

In summary, a Live Conversion Tracker is more than just a list; it’s a dynamic analytics platform for the office-to-life-science conversion market. In a sector where both life science conversion opportunities and risks are evolving rapidly, such a tool enables professionals to stay ahead of the curve. Whether it’s spotting the next hot office-to-lab real estate deal, tracking ROI on conversions, or finding that perfect lab space for a growing biotech, the tracker’s data-driven insights empower better, faster decisions. As the industry moves forward, those armed with real-time information will be best positioned to capitalize on the continued convergence of offices and labs in the United States.

Sources:

• CBRE – Life Sciences Construction Benchmarks & Trends 2024

• JLL – 2025 U.S. Life Sciences Property Report: The Path Forward

• Urban Land – “Office-to-Life Science Conversions: High Demand, Lower Cost, Faster Delivery”

• NAIOP Research Foundation – New Uses for Office Buildings: Life Science, Medical and Multifamily Conversions

• Colliers – Do Office Conversions Work?

• Wall Street Journal – “This Once Hot Real-Estate Type Is Now Being Offered as Office Space”

• Hines – Life Sciences: The Potential of Purpose-Built Properties

• Propmodo – Alexandria Offloads Assets to Focus on Life Science “Mega Campuses”

• Boston Business Journal – Cambridge greenlights BioMed office-to-lab conversion

• BHDP (Architecture Firm) – Considerations for Repurposing a Speculative Office Building into R&D Laboratories

Researchers in a converted life science lab work with microscopes and digital diagnostics, illustrat