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Harlem’s lab space sits empty as NYC life sciences leasing stays slow
JLL data shows NYC life sciences buildings had a 37% availability rate at the end of the first quarter, with asking rents at $99.17 per square foot.
Signs of renewed life sciences real estate activity are emerging across the U.S., but the pickup is not reaching Harlem, where developers built hundreds of thousands of square feet of lab space after the pandemic and much of it remains vacant, according to Bisnow.
The outlet cited JLL data showing New York City life sciences buildings posted the highest availability rate in the country at 37% at the end of the first quarter, alongside asking rents of $99.17 per square foot versus $76.72 per square foot in Boston.
Bisnow reported that even though local industry players expect activity to return to the NYC market over time, they do not anticipate a near term boost in Harlem. Savills senior research analyst Brianna Friedman said New York is definitely slower, with little activity and limited leasing movement, while Cushman and Wakefield’s Sandy Romero said growth is likely to stay focused on hub markets like San Francisco, San Diego, and Boston before additional interest returns to New York.
The article contrasted Harlem’s vacancy with limited pockets of leasing elsewhere in the city, including Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ 728,000 square feet of NYC properties that were 95.5% occupied as of its Q2 earnings report, as well as leasing in Long Island City tied to deals totaling more than 150,000 square feet with NYU Langone.