Longfellow Real Estate Partners, the largest privately held investor and developer of life science buildings, has announced it has signed a fixed price contract to reposition its CamLIFE campus, with the UK’s leading family-owned construction company, Wates.
Construction on CamLIFE is set to begin immediately, which will bolster the 42-acre parkland campus while delivering high-quality, fitted lab space, curated amenities, and expansive green space in Cambridge. Delivery of the lab space will begin in Mid-2025 with the Cam 3 building coming online first, with Cam 1 & 2 shortly thereafter.
“Longfellow will deliver the same high quality and sustainable fitted lab space that we have across our 16m sq ft portfolio,” said Adam Sichol, Co-Founder & CEO of Longfellow Real Estate Partners. “At CamLIFE, our team is creating the next generation of developments to meet the demands of the United Kingdom’s innovation economy and support its future growth.”
“The signing of this contract signals a significant milestone for Longfellow UK and further strengthens our commitment to the UK life science market,” said Tom French, UK Lead and Development Director. “This initial phase will be the foundation of what we hope will be a more extensive, broader vision for the campus.”
Longfellow’s commitment to sustainable development underpins the environmental ethos, the campus, and its community. The first phase is targeting BREEAM Excellent and EPC A. The adaptive re-use design approach has led to a 40% whole-life embodied carbon reduction relative to a new-build net-zero equivalent.
With three decades of experience bringing complex life science, advanced manufacturing, research and technology projects to life, Wates is well placed to partner with Longfellow UK to create sustainable, state-of-the-art laboratory buildings. Wates will also work throughout this project with SES Engineering Services, one of the UK’s leading Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) partners, who will lead on design elements and in particular the specialist Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) systems required.
“We are delighted that we have been selected to lead Longfellow’s first UK project to create state-of-the-art laboratory facilities in this world-renowned location,” said Steff Battle, Managing Director of Wates Construction. “Everything we do is guided by our purpose of working together to create the places, communities, and businesses of tomorrow – these are cultural traits we are proud to share with Longfellow and we will work with their team on delivering this important project.”
Longfellow has spearheaded the development of life science clusters throughout the US. With more than 16m sq ft located in key biotech markets, Longfellow continues to partner with and support innovative companies and institutions in leading regions.