To meet the increasing demand for medical research space in the Chicagoland area, Cour Pharmaceuticals signed a 14,000 sq. ft. expansion lease, growing the company’s life science and emergency biotechnology footprint within the Illinois Science and Technology Park in Skokie, Ill. With the addition, Cour Pharmaceuticals now leases around 25,000 sq. ft. in the park.
The Illinois Science + Technology Park started with the former corporate headquarters of pharmaceutical giant G.D. Searle and has since created a community of scientists, inventors, and innovators. Upon completion of its redevelopment the Illinois Science + Technology Park will offer up to 2 million square feet of office and state-of-the-art facilities including chemistry and biology labs, CGMP facilities, as well as state-of-the-art clinical research labs.
CBRE’s David Saad represented the Cour Pharma in the expansion transaction.
“This is an exciting expansion that is illustrative of the momentum we are seeing in this sector,” said Saad. “Chicago presents a plethora of desirable fundamentals that are tailor made for growth-stage life science companies.”
“Continued rapid growth for high-potential life science startups are emerging in Chicago and in addition to talent, life sciences companies like COUR will continue to need access to more specialized wet and dry lab space along with capital,” said COUR Pharmaceuticals CEO John Puisis. “Ideal for both emerging and established life sciences operations, CBRE can help your biotech business take the next step in its path toward success with its a growing portfolio of best-in-class life science developments.”
According to a recent CBRE report, Chicago continues to attract significant venture capital funding, posting a Q1 annual amount of $491,810,000, a 30 percent increase from Q1 2020. Over the past three years, Chicago has had the largest increase in life sciences venture capital funding of any major U.S. market.
Among the top 12 U.S. life-science markets, Chicago has seen a substantial uptick in inventory, with nearly 1 million sq. ft. of Class A lab space delivered or under construction since 2020, primarily in Fulton Market. Historically, a lack of available lab space had been a significant impediment to the growth of Chicago’s research-based life sciences sector. Chicago has 704,545 sq. ft. of space currently under construction, all of which being new, ground-up construction that is expected to deliver by the end of 2024.
