Written by: Hannah Williams, CPRC and Ryan Mitchell
Hannah specializes in research capabilities, providing support for the Colliers Columbus Office, Industrial, Retail, and Multifamily Groups. She is responsible for executing data reports, maintaining a commercial property database, reporting quarterly trends, performing data analysis and utilizing statistical information to predict future behavior in the market. She also assists the marketing and research director on special projects and corporate initiatives. Ryan Mitchell is a student at Otterbein University studying Marketing with minors in Finance and Sports Management. He interned this Summer and Fall with Colliers | Columbus on the Research team. Keep reading to get Hannah and Ryan’s take on the growing life sciences sector.
What is the Life Sciences/Biotech Industry?
The Covid-19 pandemic caused push back to certain sectors within commercial real estate, but the life sciences/biotech industry did not follow suit. This industry surged as the need for vaccines and therapeutics increased throughout 2020 and - is continuing into 2021. So, what are the life sciences and biotech industries? The life sciences industry is centered around protecting and improving organism life – human, animal, and plant. Similarly, the biotech industry uses living organisms to create and develop products. Look for life sciences/biotech to be a focal point within commercial real estate going forward.
Columbus’ Future in the Field
In the future, Central Ohio can anticipate steady development in the life sciences sector. The demand for biotech research was rising pre-COVID and the pandemic fueled this growth with the immediate need for vaccines and therapeutics. Although cities like Boston and San Francisco will continue to see activity from these types of users, there is also a move to secondary markets. Columbus has an upper hand, as rents are much lower and land is more available than in established markets in the sector. Another factor that life sciences companies look for in their location searches is the presence of distinguished universities with top candidates and research institutions. This bodes well for Columbus’ future in the industry, as the city is home to over 50 colleges and universities, most notably The Ohio State University. The area is also home to various research hospitals, like Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Wexner Medical Center, that are leading the charge in innovative work such as gene therapy. Additionally, the recent addition of Amgen’s manufacturing facility in New Albany is expected to propel further investment and development in the biotech field. With more secondary markets moving into spotlight, the future looks bright for Columbus in the life sciences and biotech world.
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