Financing secured for Dallas life sciences / lab redevelopment project

DALLAS, Oct. 23, 2023 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has arranged financing for the redevelopment of Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park, a 135,000-square-foot life sciences / lab facility in Dallas, Texas.

JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, Montgomery Street Partners, J. Small Investments and an affiliate of Lyda Hill Philanthropies, to secure a five-year construction loan through InterBank. Additionally, JLL placed C-PACE financing with Nuveen Green Capital to complete the capital requirements for the redevelopment.

“This groundbreaking initiative was an opportunity to leverage our bank’s support for a critical community and national priority,” said C.K. Lee, InterBank’s President and COO. “The work done here will have tremendous impact, and we are proud Interbank could play a role.”

“Having grown up in Dallas, it is very exciting to be a part of the Pegasus Park project, given its rich history. It is an honor for Nuveen Green Capital to help finance this first-of-its-kind life sciences development project for the city where we were able to help complete the capital stack with C-PACE’s long-term, fixed-rate, low-cost capital,” added Sean Ribble, Senior Director of Originations for Nuveen Green Capital.

Formerly a call center, Bridge Labs is a two-story building that will be converted and expanded into a state-of-the-art lab / R&D facility by Q3 2024, including pre-built lab spec suites and centralized lab services / amenities. This represents the first life sciences development or conversion transaction in the Dallas market and will address the urgent need for lab space in Dallas Fort Worth. Bridge Labs at Pegasus Park is already 30% pre-leased.

The property is located within Pegasus Park, Dallas’ first true biotech and life sciences campus positioned between Dallas’ Design District and the Southwestern Medical District. The campus is highly amenitized, offering tenants access to a brewery with a restaurant, and taproom, full service on-site conference center and catering, grab-and-go options, a fitness center, outdoor firepits and an indoor/outdoor lounge. The park is home to several existing academic anchors, including UT Southwestern and SMU, as well as BioLab’s first non-coastal location. Additionally, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) announced the launch of ARPANET-H, a national health innovation network anchored by three regional hubs. As part of the $2.5 billion initiative, the Customer Experience hub will be physically located at Pegasus Park and focus on patient access and diversity for the agency’s projects. While the other two hubs will be located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Washington D.C., selection of Texas firmly cements the region as an emerging life sciences market.

The JLL Capital Markets team representing the borrower was led by Senior Managing Director Jim Curtin and Senior Director Andrew Gray. Jason Piering, formerly with JLL and now with Hamilton Partners team was also part of the financing team.

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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Montgomery Street Partners is a diversified commercial real estate investment firm that invests across property types and geographies. MSP’s primary investment strategy is to pursue programmatic GP Equity Co-investments with established institutional-quality operator partners who operate within a well-defined real estate sector or theme. Additionally, MSP pursues strategic Entity and Platform Investments in real estate operating companies, as well as Limited Partner investments in individual real estate assets.

J. Small Investments (“JSI”) has operated for over 23 years with a mission of sourcing attractive real estate investment opportunities throughout North Texas. The company has established a well-recognized track record of success over a wide variety of real estate product types. Over its lifetime, JSI and its affiliated entities have invested in over two million of square feet of office, retail, and industrial real estate. The company currently owns and operates a diverse mix of over 50 commercial properties around the DFW area.

Lyda Hill Philanthropies encompasses the charitable giving for founder Lyda Hill and includes her foundation and personal philanthropy. Their organization is committed to funding transformational advances in science and nature, empowering nonprofit organizations and improving the Texas and Colorado communities. Because Miss Hill has a fervent belief that “science is the answer” to many of life’s most challenging issues, she has chosen to donate the entirety of her estate to philanthropy and scientific research.