#1 - Camille White, Senior Associate at BioMed Realty

Slice of Life Sciences Real Estate

Introduction:

Camille White, Senior Associate on BioMed Realty’s leasing team, who is a Blackstone portfolio company and leading provider of real estate solutions for the life science industry with over 14M sf worldwide in major markets like Boston, Bay Area, San Diego, Seattle, NY, and UK.

• Where’d you go to school and what’d you study?
• How did you get in real estate? BioMed?
• Did you know you wanted to work in the LS industry in some capacity before joining BioMed?
• What’s your favorite part about your job and how does your day-to-day look?

About BMR:

BMR invests in life science and biotech properties in core life science markets.

• How important is vertical integration for BMR to get from an idea to managing a fully leased up asset: Leasing, Development, Acquisition, Financing, Asset Management?
• What exactly is considered a core life science market and how does BMR view expanding in existing core markets versus being on the forefront of growing a lesser market?
• It’s interesting how many players there are that make up a LS ‘cluster’ and the relationships that make a cluster successful: Developer/Landlord, LS asset expertise and adequate capital, tenants (partnership with landlord), Vetting of prospective tenants (financing/due diligence), Amenities/talent attraction and retention….What is BMR’s playbook for identifying an opportunity and turning it into a cluster within a cluster?
• What ranges of tenant’s does BMR have in their portfolio? How does your team look at a large pharma company with incredible credit versus a Series B, rapidly growing prospective tenant when leasing up your buildings? Growth is incredibly important to so many LS tenants so how much do large portfolios of assets resonate with tenants in your buildings?
• What are some of the obstacles you go through when leasing office/laboratory space to a tenant? It’s not one tour then an immediate lease signing…these are massive amounts of money that BMR is investing in the development, but also in the company who is leasing the space and getting a TI allowance of i.e. $225/sf with a term commitment of 10 years….this creates a very real partnership, does it not?

LS Real Estate Industry:

• I used to think I was in the business of space, but it’s become more apparent to me that I am in the business of people…I say this because the LS is so competitive that companies putting together a real estate strategy will be opening a facility that will need to attract and retain talent when competing with so many other…How important is this to BMR as you evaluate how to construct developments, creation of a community (like mind LS companies), public transportation, proximity to universities, building sustainability, etc?
• BioMed is one of the most respected LS real estate provider in the world and knows the ins and outs of what it takes to develop or re-develop a proper lab building…What do you make of so many new ownership groups entering various LS markets to convert traditional office buildings into lab
• The LS industry is going through record high activity with funding’s, IPOs, M&A’s, and partnerships…how is this translating into the real estate landscape?
• With demand severely outweighing supply, when/if do you think the life science real estate market will slow down?

Recent News:

BMR has been incredibly busy this past year from the $3.45B acquisition of Brookfield’s Cambridge portfolio, to your first Seaport acquisition and redevelopment, to the Assembly Square site in Somerville, to even the doubling of size in BMR’s UK portfolio

• What are you most excited about for the future with all of these recent milestones?
• I obviously focus primarily on the Greater Boston life science landscape, but what do you see in the broader market? In Greater Boston, for example, the area went through ‘The Kendall Effect’ where LS clusters have grown elsewhere and grown rapidly due to opportunity…are certain markets expanding or are more and more small, LS pockets popping up?
• What are the most important pillars to have that make up a successful, major LS cluster?
• Scientists cannot do their work without a lab, so knowing that, is that a motivating aspect for you? That you are handling the real estate so your tenant’s can focus on scientific research that can change the world?