Amicus Therapeutics to open biotech labs in new 3675 Market St. building in West Philly
The Global Research and Gene Therapy Center of Excellence, as Amicus’s facility is to be known, is expected to open during the second half of this year.
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Biotech firm Amicus Therapeutics plans to lease 75,000 square feet of offices and lab space at 3675 Market St., the first commercial building newly constructed as part of the uCity Square development in West Philadelphia.
The Global Research and Gene Therapy Center of Excellence, as Amicus’s facility is to be known, is expected to open during the second half of this year and will eventually employ 200 workers, the nonprofit University City Science Center, a partner in the uCity Square project, said in a release Tuesday.
Cranberry, N.J.-based Amicus selected the University City location because of its proximity to the University of Pennsylvania and other nearby medical-research institutions with which it collaborates, the firm’s chairman and chief executive John F. Crowley said in the release.
The uCity Square project involves plans for 6.5 million square feet of retail, residential, office, and lab space on 27 acres of existing buildings and vacant land owned by developer Wexford Science & Technology LLC and the Science Center along and north of Market Street between 34th and 39th Streets.
The 14-story, 345,000-square-foot 3675 Market St. building opened late last year with tenants including tech incubator Cambridge Innovation Center. The Amicus offices, which will span three floors, will bring the tower’s occupancy to 90 percent, the Science Center said.
Amicus already has space in the building’s BioLabs@CIC shared lab space, a collaboration between Cambridge Innovation Center and shared-lab operator BioLabs, both based in Cambridge, Mass.