San Diego Life Sciences Cluster Secures 2.2M+ SF in Leases

Amid the pandemic, strong tailwinds produced accelerating growth within the national life sciences sector, according to a report by JLL. Record levels of investment produced a banner year that has been the catalyst for expansion throughout the nation.

As a result, companies located within the top-ranked life science clusters of Boston, San Francisco and San Diego continued to lead the pack in developing new innovations and technologies to aid global healthcare systems.

Venture capital, the lifeblood of the national biotech industry, secured more than $29.9 billion throughout the year. Adding to the record levels of VC funding, the public markets remained open and continued to provide a valuable source of capital for growing biotechs.

Activated by robust sector investment, the San Diego life sciences market generated record leasing activity during 2020, both in number of completed transactions and square feet leased. A total of 92 lease transactions were signed during 2020, totaling more than 2.2 million square feet. Previously, the highest volume of completed leases in any year was 1.7 million square feet, occurring in 2015. The volume of square feet leased within the San Diego life sciences cluster in 2020 was 50 percent higher than the trailing five-year annual average and 31% greater than the previous record high posted in 2015.

Abundant leasing activity coupled with limited space options has created an increasingly competitive environment where multiple companies are vying for the same space. This trend is expected to increase as availability of San Diego life sciences lab space is expected to tighten during the first half of 2021.

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