Prologis UK, a leading property developer, investor and owner, has secured a 15-year lease from Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUHT) for the top floor of its newly developed, state-of-the-art life sciences facility at Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC).
CUHT will be using the 23,000 sq. ft. of laboratory and office space at 1000 Discovery Drive, which recently achieved practical completion, to house an ultra-modern histopathology unit which will provide diagnostic pathology services, supporting clinical trials and biotechnological research into many diseases, for example, cancer, neurological conditions, transplantation, metabolic disease and inflammatory conditions. The unit will benefit NHS patients from Cambridge and across the East of England, including those receiving treatment at CUHT’s world-renowned Addenbrooke’s Hospital. The previous facility housing the histopathology unit is no longer fit for purpose for a modern service and enables CUH to co-locate the service along with academic and industry partners.
Carin Charlton, Director of Capital, Estates & Facilities Management at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This is the perfect solution for our Trust and means we will be able to provide a high-quality, efficient service to our clinicians and their patients. 1000 Discovery Drive provides the right amount of flexibility and a unique blend of prime laboratory and office space, where we can thrive. We look forward to a long relationship with Prologis UK at 1000 Discovery Drive.”
This is the first lease agreement to be signed at 1000 Discovery Drive, a five-storey speculatively developed building comprising a total of 103,000 sq. ft. of laboratory and office space. The new building recently achieved completion and is part of the current wave of expansion underway at CBC. Having funded the development of 1000 Discovery Drive speculatively, Prologis UK is delighted with the level of interest the building has attracted so far.
Andrew Blevins, Head of Life Sciences at Prologis UK, commented: “We knew that demand would be strong for well-located, high-spec space for life sciences and biotech companies to grow into and have been encouraged by the level of interest we have received since announcing the development.
“We expect 1000 Discovery Drive to be fully let before long, and are eager to commence the next stage of our plan - the phased delivery of up to another 300,000 sq. ft. of laboratory enabled space with further delivery expected in 2025.”
1000 Discovery Drive is part of a world-class, expanding life sciences and biotech ecosystem at CBC, which brings together clinical, academic and commercial excellence. The campus is home to academic research departments of the University of Cambridge and its School of Clinical Medicine, as well as a number of renowned hospitals, including CUHT and the Royal Papworth Hospital and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. A new dedicated railway station connecting London’s King’s Cross with the campus will be operational by 2025.
Designed with the CBC’s 2050 Vision in mind, 1000 Discovery Drive aims to add value to the site’s thriving healthcare community. The development embodies Prologis UK’s ESG credentials with BREEAM ‘Excellent’ target rating and benefiting from a solar array with a generating capacity of 970 kWp.
Importantly, and as an extension to Prologis’ PARKlife initiative into urban life science workspaces, the new building incorporates curated internal and external communal spaces, adding valuable additional amenities for the whole campus and enhanced by the company’s widely praised on-going public art strategy. New amenities include a café and break-out collaborative spaces for the use by anyone based at or visiting the campus. The newly provided green spaces have been landscaped to encourage biodiversity, whilst cycling and related changing facilities have been developed to support green commuting.
In 2021 Prologis UK committed £450 million of investment to the delivery of expansion plans at CBC, with the aim of providing an additional 400,000 sq. ft. of commercial R&D laboratory and office space to meet the needs of the UK’s thriving life sciences and biotech industries.
Andrew Blevins, Head of Life Sciences at Prologis UK, said: “1000 Discovery Drive represents the best of everything that the CBC has to offer, providing an opportunity for clinical, academic and commercial excellence to sit side-by-side, under one roof. We have been delighted to have recently achieved practical completion of the building and look forward to supporting CUHT in establishing its new unit. We also hope that this first lease will pave the way for more to follow as this newest phase of the campus expansion take shape.”
Architect : Scott Brownrigg
Contractor : SDC Builders Ltd
Agents : Creative Places, Bidwells & Savills
