Pioneering past informs future as Budd Bioworks takes shape in Philadelphia’s “Cellicon Valley”
- MAREJ
- Sep 16, 2021
- 2 min read
PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Plymouth Group, in partnership with Centerbridge Partners, L.P., is officially underway on an ambitious biomanufacturing redevelopment plan that puts the life changing therapies developed in Philadelphia’s “Cellicon Valley” on the production line. Spaces will be ready for tenant construction as soon as Q4 of 2021, positioning Philadelphia to meet the swelling demand for cGMP manufacturing nationwide.
The new development will be known as the Budd Campus with the 450,000 s/f Budd Bioworks representing Phase 1 of the project, a life sciences anchor to a 2.4 million s/f adaptive reuse plan that encompasses six buildings on over 25 acres in the middle of a major metropolitan area.
Budd Bioworks will comprise 300,000 s/f of cGMP drug manufacturing space along with 150,000 s/f of lab and office space. Residences, restaurants, retail and art activations are planned for subsequent phases within the greater Budd Campus.
Sitting directly between Philadelphia’s Center City and its suburbs, the former Budd Company Hunting Park Plant holds a significant place in Philadelphia’s manufacturing past and the world over, producing numerous pioneering innovations in the application of stamped and stainless steel that would revolutionize auto and rail car manufacturing and redefine standards for manufacturing processes to this day.
Underscored by the mobilization to a vaccine for COVID-19, the need for biomanufacturing is growing nationwide, with the immediate availability of ready space and strong labor pools defining the search.
“Being able to deliver such a critical block of space, that is ready for tenant construction in a few short months, is crucial for Philadelphia to compete nationally with the surging demand for biomanufacturing space. The unique ability of Budd to expand through subsequent phases will provide opportunities for biomanufacturing tenants to grow along with them,” said Joseph Fetterman, leader of the Colliers life sciences practice group in the Philadelphia market who heads up the project leasing team.
