A 6-year-old life science real estate developer has boosted its San Diego portfolio with the recent purchase of a renovated three-building research campus in the most esteemed corner of San Diego’s science sector.
Los Angeles-based Breakthrough Properties purchased the 186,000 square-feet Muse facility at 3030, 3040 and 3050 Science Park Road in Torrey Pines for $159 million, the company announced in a press release this week. The transaction is one of the largest in recent memory and a rarity for the Torrey Pines submarket, where properties are not often put up for sale.
“Muse presented a rare opportunity to expand our portfolio with a value-add campus in one of the world’s foremost life science clusters,” Dan D’Orazi, chief investment officer at Breakthrough Properties, said in a statement. “With flexible design, expansive amenities and close proximity to major research institutions, Muse is the ideal setting for a wide range of companies, from early-stage biotechs to established pharma.”
Formed in 2019, Breakthrough Properties is a joint venture between real estate developer Tishman Speyer and biotech investor Bellco Capital.
The firm is, perhaps, best known locally for its recently completed Torrey Heights project (previously named Torrey Valley) on a 10-acre site at the corner of El Camino Real and Carmel Mountain Road in Torrey Hills. The 520,000 square-foot campus was fully pre-leased to brand-name tenants, including Pfizer and Becton, Dickinson and Co. A year ago, the life science real estate firm also purchased a 65% stake in Callan Ridge, the 173,311 square-foot Torrey Pines research campus at 3020 and 3030 Callan Road, for $153.4 million.
The former longtime home of Scripps Research, the Muse property was completely revamped in 2021. Previous owner Diversified Healthcare Trust spent $100 million upgrading the three-building campus at the end of Science Park Road to make the office and lab space — and amenities — on par with the project’s address in the heart of a region where the most prominent academic institutions and life science firms are clustered.
Muse was 85% leased after the costly conversion, but tenancy has since slipped.
Real estate tracker CoStar estimates that roughly 50% of the complex, or one entire building, is available for lease.
The facility’s current research tenants are Organogenesis, Aegis Life and Halloran Consulting, a spokesperson for the new owner said. The campus also includes the Gold Finch Deli, a modern Jewish deli run by Urban Kitchen Group, the local collective behind Cucina Urbana and Cucina Enoteca.
Going forward, Breakthrough Properties plans to renovate the interior of the 3030 Science Park Road building for modern lab use, the spokesperson said.
The transaction, valued at $850.84 per square foot, is most comparable to Breakthrough Properties’ January 2024 Callan Ridge deal, where the firm paid $1,361.71 per square foot, said Joshua Ohl, who is the senior director of market analytics for CoStar.
“Few properties come up for sale in Torrey Pines … and Torrey Pines will always be a primary target among investors, given the primacy of the submarket and the lab space,” Ohl said.
Seller Diversified Healthcare Trust originally purchased the property for $115.7 million in 2009. The real estate investment trust, which is managed by the RMR Group, said in a press release that it plans to use proceeds from the sale of Muse to pay down senior secured notes due in January 2026.
