Colliers International held its Accelerator Conference, Molecule to Market, at the Quorum at the University Science Center on Oct 30, where MRA Group’s (MRA) chief operating officer Phil Butler participated on a panel of his peers to raise awareness about the significant real estate development projects in the region.
Butler placed the spotlight on MRA’s premier, 133-acre, suburban business and research campus, Spring House Innovation Park (SHIP). During his presentation, he referred to SHIP as the “best kept secret” in the Philadelphia region, drawing the audience in with a short video of the 11 building, approximate 600K-square-foot community of build-to-suit laboratories, state-of-the-art research and development facilities, Class A office and coworking space. Situated in Lower Gwynedd, PA, a suburb on the outskirts of Philadelphia, SHIP will complete renovations for its newest lab building as early as Summer 2020, delivering more than 70,000 square feet of lab and R&D space for prospective tenants.
The conference centered around the greater Philadelphia area being poised for significant growth in the life sciences sector. Currently, Philadelphia, aka Cellicon Valley for its strength in innovation with cell and gene therapies, is home to more than 800 life sciences companies and 15 major health systems. Select Greater Philadelphia reports that 87 percent of U.S. pharmaceuticals and biotech companies have a presence in the region. Not to mention that the City of Brotherly Love is consistently ranked in the Top 10 Life Sciences Clusters in the country, according to a report by CBRE.
As the Philadelphia market leads the revolution as a hotspot for emerging companies, new investments are flowing into the city. As Philadelphia and its surrounding areas become more desirable for emergent companies, MRA is committed to remaining a go-to leader in the life sciences real estate economy. Today, SHIP, the former Rohm and Haas research and development campus has been reimagined for the modern world, housing international companies, global thought-leaders, scientists, R&D corporations, small business owners, local biotech start-ups and a renowned university. Alongside its tenant partners, SHIP is pushing industries forward to shape the future of our world.