A development firm based in Lake Oswego is planning to build a pair of connected, 10-story laboratory buildings on a full block in Southeast Portland.

Summit Development Group‘s New Industrial Revolution (NIR) campus, will have approximately 347,000 gross square feet of space designed by Hennebery Eddy Architects to accommodate lab, research, office and retail use.

The project will be built by general contractor R&H Construction on property comprised of four separate parcels on the block between Southeast Stark and Washington streets and Ninth and 10th avenues. The parcels were jointly purchased by NIR OP LLC, on March 6, for $5.79 million, according to public records.

“We are creating a very innovative building using cross-laminated timber supported by steel core,” Summit Development Group President and Chief Operating Officer Eric Saunders stated in a press release.

The two buildings will be joined in an ‘H’ shape and feature a common courtyard, several small restaurants or coffee shops or other commercial tenants.

Specific features planned for the NIR include: complete HEPA filtration; a modular layout designed for research and development; BioSafety Level 2 laboratory space; segregated laboratory plumbing and independent HVAC systems; backup power; underground vehicle parking; and extensive bicycle parking with locker rooms.

The campus will rise near Summit Development Group’s Eastside Innovation Hub, at 808 S.E. Alder St. The two projects are the first ones to be built in the Central Eastside specifically for emerging and growing bioscience firms, according to the developer. It’s part of the Portland Innovation Quadrant initiative – a priority within the city’s 2035 Comprehensive Plan. The first project to come out of that was the Collaborative Life Sciences Building in the South Waterfront District. The Knight Cancer Research Building came next, and then the 40,000-square-foot Eastside Innovation Hub was announced last year.

“We consider this project, the NIR Center, to be at the heart of the Innovation Quadrant’s intent,” Summit Development Chief Development Officer Eric Myers stated in the press release. “The project repurposes an industrial-zoned site for innovative research and development.”

Development will grow with the arrivals of additional tenants, according to Myers, with Phase I (approximately 163,000 square feet) expected to be ready by summer 2021.

Two letters of intent have been signed by life science tenants for space in NIR, according to Summit. Leasing is being handled by Real Estate Investment Group.

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