Atlanta’s Biotech Scene Prepares for New Heights

A new project has capped off construction in Midtown Atlanta, providing physical real estate that experts say is sorely needed for the region’s growing biotech ecosystem, now home to more than 4,000 life science companies.

The Science Square project completed the first phase of construction last week. Built by real estate developer Trammell Crow and Georgia Advanced Technology Ventures, an affiliate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, the 13-story building offers more than 368,000 square feet of laboratory, clean room space and office space for life sciences companies. In its current iteration, Science Square is set to host several companies, including Abbott Laboratories, Vero Biotech and BioSpark Labs, a collaborative lab space, and the development has additional phases planned that could amount to 1.3 million square feet of biopharma activity.Meanwhile, amid the forests of Gwinnett County, Ga., just east of Atlanta, an even bigger project is underway with the same goal: to support the area’s biotech ecosystem. Starting this summer, the Rowen Foundation will open roads, biking and hiking trials winding throughout a 2,000-acre plot that, over the next 30 years, will provide 22 million square feet of office and lab space for biopharma companies.“I do think it will help spur development,” Katherine Lynch, a partner at Trammell Crow, told BioSpace of Science Square’s impact.  Maria Thacker-Goethe, president and CEO of the nonprofit trade association Georgia Bio, agreed, adding that the projects couldn’t come at a better time. “We as a community have grown quite a bit, and I would argue, and I think many would agree, we’re at a real inflection point,” she told BioSpace. There’s a lot more activity around life sciences nationally, and we’re getting a lot more interest in Atlanta from those we otherwise couldn’t get on the phone three years ago.”