Note: This article was originally written on 1/4/2023 and information may be dated as of publishing.
Representatives of the Pegasus Park biotech campus, a Design District development directly across I-35 from UT Southwestern Medical Center, had an opportunity on Friday, December 16 to share their vision with the Urban Design Peer Review Panel. The Urban Design Peer Review Panel, an advisory board of private professionals under the umbrella of the City of Dallas Department of Planning & Urban Design, were given a comprehensive walkthrough of the next steps for the Pegasus Park coworking campus.
For investors, this potential hub of innovation and wealth is an enticing proposition. However, for those of us not fortunate enough to spend a Friday night discussing the intricacies of urban planning, the City of Dallas has uploaded both the presentation and a recording of the meeting. Note: the audio can be difficult to understand (and lasts for nearly two hours).
From the air it is easy to see the proximity to major medical centersPresentation for City of Dallas
BioLabs, a partner in the Pegasus Park project, is an international company seeking to advance the state of biotech throughout the world by helping life science startups take advantage of the synergies offered by coworking spaces. One such efficiency is shared lab spaces: this drastically reduces idle time for lab equipment and saves each firm the significant capital expenditure of building out their own. At the time of writing, BioLabs has fifteen locations between the United States and Europe, with Pegasus Park being one of the latest. As host to explosive economic growth, top research universities, and world-class medical facilities, it takes no mental-gymnastics to see that North Texas has the makings of a BioTech hub. JLL has even ranked the DFW metroplex as a top-ten emerging market within the US for life sciences -- in large part driven by Texas providing $3.6 billion annually to higher education, an substantial investment topped only by California and New York.
Architectural firm Perkins & Will provided numerous renderings of what they hope to be not only a practical asset, but "As New Landmark for Dallas" that will attract the best and brightest talent the world has to offer. Already, BioLabs has 37,000 SF of lab and office facilities available in Pegasus Park.
The campus is designed with a young professional in mind. Despite being in borderline-suburban Dallas, plans call for exclusively structured parking in order to maintain the aesthetic and pedestrian-convenience of the campus. Additionally, public transit linkages are planned, allowing individuals the choice to forego a personal vehicle entirely. For BioTech founders and employees who may have fondness for Cambridge, MA or Manhattan, NY, it is not a stretch to think that this design will be a major selling point.
Savvy CRE investors will be sure to keep an eye on this project and its progress. Even if only part of Pegasus Park's ambitions are realized, the surrounding area will likely be transformed for decades to come. Google Maps indicates that the campus is currently surrounded mostly by industrial buildings, save for a brewery (a must-have for any neighborhood meant to appeal to young professionals), indicating that there is likely still uncertainty among investors regarding the future of the project. Despite current hesitancy, Pegasus Park and its neighboring areas should remain on investors' radar scopes for years to come.
The area around the campus is mostly industrial at the momentGoogle Maps
Sources not previously linked:
https://pegasuspark.com/biotech/
https://www.biolabs.io/why-biolabs
