As states and municipalities nationwide initiate efforts to develop office space for biotechnology businesses, Long Island has persistently worked to attract start-up life sciences companies, though with mixed results. Despite potential setbacks, New York State continues to invest in this vision, allocating approximately $43 million to the Route 110 industrial corridor in Suffolk County, adjacent to Nassau County. This investment primarily benefits the Broad Hollow Bioscience Park, located on the Farmingdale State College campus, which recently inaugurated a 43,000-square-foot building for emerging life sciences companies.
This new building is part of a planned three-building complex. The first building, completed in June 2002, is occupied by OSI Pharmaceuticals, IRX Therapeutics, and Helicon Therapeutics. OSI, a successful drug development company, is expanding into the entire first building, while IRX will occupy 11,500 square feet in the new structure. Helicon, however, relocated to San Diego due to delays in securing space at Broad Hollow.
Greg Blyskal, the park’s executive director, acknowledges the need for further development along Route 110, emphasizing that the completion of the third building is crucial for achieving critical mass in the biotech sector. However, there are no immediate plans for its construction.
Life sciences companies typically require specialized and costly infrastructure, which private developers are hesitant to build due to the financial risks involved. These businesses often need expensive offices and laboratories with advanced features such as higher ceilings, robust floor-load capacities, fume hoods, and sophisticated mechanical systems.
Despite the challenges, the proximity of universities and medical institutions can attract biotech companies by ensuring a steady flow of potential new tenants. Long Island has several research and medical institutions, but they may not yet be sufficient to draw a significant number of biotech startups. Efforts to develop a life sciences cluster on Long Island, apart from Broad Hollow, have yet to fully succeed.
Joseph Scaduto, executive director of the Long Island Life Sciences Initiative, highlights other life sciences companies located at the Long Island High Technology Incubator on Stony Brook University’s campus and the Stony Brook University Incubator at Calverton. However, these initiatives have not yet gained significant traction.
One attractive aspect of Broad Hollow for startups is its relatively low rents, capped at $33 per square foot, compared to higher rents in Manhattan. However, Manhattan is set to gain 1.1 million square feet of lab and office space for the life sciences, further increasing competition for attracting biotech companies.
In contrast, established life sciences companies on Long Island often build their own facilities or convert existing industrial buildings. ICON Central Laboratories, Enzo Biochem, and Forest Laboratories are examples of companies that have successfully expanded by utilizing or converting existing spaces.
Despite these efforts, the anticipated growth of the life sciences industry on Long Island has not fully materialized, with high living costs for employees posing a significant challenge. As Mr. Blyskal notes, while progress has been made, achieving a thriving biotech sector on Long Island remains a work in progress.
Read the full article on Newsday by Alison Gregor here: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/04/realestate/commercial/04bio.html