Lincoln Park life sciences hub adds 4 biotech research firms

Four fledgling companies involved in biotech research have leased lab space at a Lincoln Park building designed for the life sciences. The developer says the transactions show there is continued demand from the sector.

The new tenants will mean the five-story building at 2430 N. Halsted St. is around 80% occupied early in 2024, development firm Sterling Bay said Wednesday.

The 125,000-square-foot building, formerly used by Lurie Children’s Hospital, opened in 2020 after an extensive rehabilitation. It is equipped so that young research companies can set up quickly under leases that let them expand or contract space as needed.

Sterling Bay has bet heavily on life sciences and hopes firms that grow out of the Halsted Street space will consider its other properties.

The firms joining its roster are:

• Seq Biomarque, which is working on screenings and tests for Alzheimer’s. It is the first Chicago location for the Anaheim, California-based company.
• CeGat Corp., part of a German firm doing genetic research and making its debut in the U.S.
• EVOQ Therapeutics, a spin-off from the University of Michigan’s on-campus lab research that works on autoimmune diseases.
• Cyclopure, specializing in water purification and treatment. It is relocating and expanding from the Illinois Science and Technology Park in Skokie.

Current tenants in the building include Evozyne, which uses artificial intelligence to develop drugs, and Exicure, a developer of nucleic acid therapies.

“We’re helping these companies get off the ground and grow here and keep the talent in the city. The reason they move to Chicago is because of the access to talent,” said Daniella Hemsley, vice president of leasing at Sterling Bay.

Hemsley said the building’s setup for lab use is “unmatched” and the flexible leases appeal to companies facing tougher competition for venture capital. She said the new tenants should collectively bring in about 40 workers and occupy 22,000 square feet.

Dave Gloor, also vice president of leasing, said, “You’ve got the larger pharmaceutical companies on the North Shore, and here you’ve got all this intellectual property being created out of the universities. We need to bridge the gap for these middle companies that want to stay here and prove out their science.”

Gloor said the building’s Lincoln Park location appeals to the companies because it has many amenities and residential options. “You can live, work, play in the exact same place,” he said.

Sterling Bay’s hope is that some of those companies will eventually need larger space and look to its new building at 1229 W. Concord Place. It’s at the southern end of its planned Lincoln Yards mega-development on the North Side.

Lincoln Yards has faced a slow start, and the developer has sought new financial backers for further construction. The Concord Place building, measuring eight stories and 285,000 square feet, has yet to score its first tenant.

“We’re talking to some large users. This is a large-user play,” Gloor said.

Deals have gotten harder to make, but the Sterling Bay executives said life sciences will grow in Chicago over the long term. They said the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub’s debut in Fulton Market demonstrates that investors and researchers want access to Chicago talent.