Today, more than 3,400 life science and biotech companies call California home. But in one of the state’s most densely populated regions, some science-focused startups struggle more with finding laboratories than they do securing investors.

That demand for affordable, quality laboratory space is, in part, what inspired Lab Launch. The scientist-founded company operates one turn-key laboratory space for biotech and life science startups in the Los Angeles area already and is set to open its second location in 2023.

Finding Space to Grow in a Rapidly Expanding Industry

Unfortunately, the region’s lack of laboratory space is not a new problem. Almost a decade earlier, Los Angeles’ life science industry was thinning as startups left the area, searching for more accessible laboratory space. Lab Launch was born in 2014 to create the necessary space to keep these businesses and their innovative work local.

“Lab Launch exists because there’s so much life science talent in the Los Angeles area,” explains Marie Rippen, Lab Launch’s chief operating officer. “It’s a shame to lose that talent to other regions because there’s a perceived lack of resources to support young companies.”

Rippen joined the company in 2015 with her own background in stem cell research and molecular biology. As scientists themselves, Lab Launch’s founders understood the nuanced struggle these companies faced in finding such a simple necessity.

Lab Launch’s original laboratory space and company headquarters are based in Monrovia, California. The second location, set in the northern LA suburb of Atwater Village, will open this month.

Fully-Equipped Laboratory Meets Co-Working Space

The newest location, dubbed Lab Launch@ATX, is a 13,000-square-foot facility catering to growth-stage biotech and life science brands. Lab Launch caters to a customized solution for each company calling the space home while still offering convenient quick-start options.

Residents can opt for a turn-key, pre-furnished lab space or choose a fully customized laboratory retrofitted to suit their company’s unique needs with the help of Lab Launch’s onsite design and advisory teams.

Like Lab Launch’s original space, Lab Launch@ATX spaces offer cold storage, backup power, and access to shared amenities. Residents have support with onsite facilities management and operational services like hazardous waste removal. The new location will also offer coworking-inspired amenities such as conference rooms, a shared kitchen, mail service, and community events.

Creating Space for Innovation and Growth

More than 40 life science start-ups have called Lab Launch home. Current residents include StatLab Medical Products, XDemics, Mission Trail BioLabs, and AcuraStem.

According to Rippen, incoming residents are often early-stage startups that need a scalable lab solution that can grow with their company. Lab Launch@ATX was designed with growth-stage biotechs in mind that have outgrown local incubators.

Known for its diverse and eclectic culture, Atwater Village is a ten-minute drive from downtown LA. The location is another proof point of Lab Launch’s commitment to supporting the local life science and biotech industries. Explore how Lab Launch is creating space for innovation in the life sciences industry at lablaunch.org.

From numerous nominations, NAIOP celebrates HATCHlabs as a finalist for “Interior Project of the Year.”

The Interior Project of the Year award recognizes an interior development project that exhibits the team’s commitment to an outstanding quality product, success in the marketplace, tenant appreciation, and uniqueness in design of a project. Judges evaluate aspects including but not limited to project concept and design, tenant benefits, amenities, accomplishment of overall development goals, sustainability, degree of difficulty, and innovation.

NexCore Group and HATCHspaces, leading health care and real estate development firms dedicated to creating purpose-built life sciences facilities, called upon HITT and BAM to reposition an existing office building into the first post-incubation facility in Orange County. This two-story project includes core and shell upgrades and implementation of infrastructure to accommodate the needs of early-stage cell therapy companies. The space features multiple labs and lab support space, including glass washes, freezer farms, and chemical waste rooms, as well as high-end ancillary areas, pantries, amenities, EV charging stations and a patio. The perfect space for growth, innovation and collaboration within the life science community.

Upon entering the sizable space, tenants are welcomed by a vibrant feature reception and lobby area with custom graphic elements and views of the outdoor patio. The second floor includes multiple specialized labs, a wealth of offices, conference rooms, freezer farms, and chemical waste rooms. Project FLS, security, and MEP systems include a 150-KW generator for backup power to support future tenant’s critical equipment. Infrastructure upgrades include upsizing the water service, installing new transformers, 40 new electrical panels, and more than 30 rooftop HVAC units. The project consists of structural upgrades to both floors to support rooftop HVAC units and lab equipment, including BSCs, fume hoods, incubators, and freezers.

The growing life sciences community in Southern California and the proximity to universities with strong biological programs has fueled the demand for functional lab-ready space more than ever before. As the first post-incubation facility in Orange County, this space embodies a major milestone for the community and will support scientific advancements into the future. This state-of-the-art, end-user focused, and design-forward space allows science and technology start-ups to optimize recruitment and retain top talent.

As the first of its kind, HATCH, NexCore, HITT, and BAM faced and overcame many project challenges through relentless drive and focus on the end-goal—delivering a space dedicated to the advancement of life sciences.

The above are highlights from the award submission, credit to HITT Contracting.

Collaborating with HATCHspaces shortly after their inception, BAM is continuing to work with the client as they grow due to our familiarity with their brand, our in-depth knowledge of life science end user needs, and ease of project execution. BAM has previously collaborated with HATCHspaces on a facility that the LA Mayor’s office awarded a certificate recognizing it as the “first biotech wet lab coworking facility” in Los Angeles.

HATCHspaces equips its facilities as the ideal homes for STEAM-based companies “hatching” from co-working environments. As of the nominated project HATCHlabs grand opening, a majority of the spaces were already occupied – one tenant utilized the entire first floor, and the second floor was 80% occupied by four tenants.

Out with the old office, in with the new lab space.

Graymark Capital has acquired a 98,800-square-foot office in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and is set to convert it into a speculative life sciences campus thanks to a $42 million loan from MetLife, records show. CBRE announced the $17.8 million property sale and the interest-only, nonrecourse loan for conversion and development, but did not disclose the name of the lender.

The existing two-story office building was the headquarters for Wellpoint Health Networks. It was completed in 1998 on 6.7 acres at 120 South Via Merida Way in the Conejo Valley along Highway 101.

CBRE said the building’s infrastructure is well suited for lab redevelopment, with 50,000-square-foot floor plates, steel frame construction and ample power supply. BAM Creative designed the conversion plan that will feature 60 percent lab-ready space with upgraded mechanical, electrical and plumbing capabilities, as well as 40 percent newly built creative office support space.

Thousand Oaks, northwest of Los Angeles, is home to more than 30 life sciences companies, including Amgen’s headquarters. Greater L.A. has emerged as one of the top secondary life sciences clusters in the nation with 28 companies actively seeking space at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, according to CBRE. The market recorded 950,000 square feet of demand for lab and research & development space, with 681,170 square feet under construction.

“Thousand Oaks is the heartbeat of life sciences in Los Angeles,” CBRE’s Michael Longo said in a statement. “The property sits at the entrance to the market and offers an ideal lab conversion due to its high-quality construction and campus layout, in a market with almost zero available space.”

Longo, along with CBRE’s Sean Sullivan and Todd Tydlaska, closed the deal. CBRE’s Greg Grant facilitated financing.

Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.