KKR Completes Joint Investment In 400 Summer Street Joint Venture

by Sloan T. Wilson, The Chicago Times

September 25, 2021

NEW YORK – KKR announced today that it has completed a significant investment in a joint venture with WS Development and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board in 400 Summer Street, a new state-of-the-art life science tower currently under construction in Boston’s Seaport District.

KKR will share ownership of the asset with WS Development and PSP Investments, while WS Development will continue to oversee and lead development and management of the property.

400 Summer Street is a 16-story purpose-built life science building in Boston’s Seaport District submarket.  The 635,000-square-foot property will be the headquarters of Foundation Medicine, a leading Boston-based biotechnology company and subsidiary of Roche Pharmaceuticals, which has leased 100 percent of the laboratory and office space in the building.

400 Summer Street is part of WS Development’s 33-acre Boston Seaport development project, which will include both interior and exterior public spaces connecting Summer and Congress Streets, as well as more than 30,000 square feet of neighborhood retail space.

Funding for research and development has continued to fuel growth in the life sciences sector, with total pharmaceutical R&D spending expected to exceed $200 billion by 2021.

“We have a strong belief in life sciences real estate and believe there will be a long-term demand for high-quality lab and workspace in the world’s top innovation hubs.  With our investment in 400 Summer Street in Boston’s Seaport, we are thrilled to be expanding our portfolio of trophy life science assets.  In addition to our recent acquisition in San Francisco’s Mission Bay, we now serve the two largest and most prestigious life science clusters in the United States,” said Justin Pattner, KKR Partner.

The transaction was handled by Newmark’s Boston-based Capital Markets Group, which represented WS Development and PSP Investments.

Morris Adjmi Architects of New York designed the structure, which is being built by Suffolk Construction of Boston.