Mission Street and BentallGreenOak begin construction on converting The Press in Foxton into a life sciences facility

Construction has commenced on the delivery of the 100,000 square foot life sciences facility in Foxton.

The Press is being created by The Mission Street Company, a specialty investor, developer, and operator of the science and innovation sector, and BentallGreenOak (BGO), a real estate investment firm.

They aim to transform the 7.8-acre site into a science and innovation campus by sensitively re-locating the former printing press and integrating it with state-of-the-art new buildings.

The first phase, in which the former Burlington Press will be renovated, will create 16,000 square feet of fully equipped labs and offices across two units and is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2023,

Mission Street, which sponsors CEO of the Year at the Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards, says it will be one of the few life sciences schemes due to complete this year.

The second phase – the handover of a new 65,000-square-foot building – is scheduled for completion in summer 2024.

“As part of our plans for The Press, we are bringing a much-needed online life sciences space to a market that is critically under-stocked,” said Artem Korolev, founder and CEO of Mission Street.

“Britain’s life sciences sector is at an inflection point, and to fully realize the potential of our world-leading research and discoveries, we must focus on providing the facilities that will enable our thriving R&D ecosystem to expand and commercialize.

“Our journalism plans have been developed through extensive and overwhelmingly positive engagement with the local community and key stakeholders. We now look forward to introducing a design-driven scheme that will be an attractive addition to the Cambridge ecosystem, and continuing to engage with some incredibly exciting occupiers in supporting their growth.”

The site will have direct rail links to Cambridge Central Station, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus via Cambridge South from 2025, and Kings Cross

Market data tracked by Mission Street indicates that there is a demand for more than 1 million square feet of laboratory space in Cambridge, yet only 10,000 square feet is available.

The Mission Steet-BGO joint venture has a development pipeline of over 1 million square feet of lab and office space in strategic locations.

It was previously announced that the joint venture has acquired 23 acres to the east of central Cambridge, where it plans to create an urban science and innovation district to serve the most promising startups in the area.