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KR, a New York-based investor, has acquired a three-year-old life sciences building in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood for $161.8 million this summer. The company plans to invest millions more to attract tenants as prices plummet for premium labs. To do so, KKR has applied for $7.2 million in upgrades for the 211,000-square-foot building at 330 Yale Avenue N.

    The upgrades include adding over 35,000 square feet of speculative lab suites on the fifth floor and upgrading the ninth-floor common areas, including a rooftop deck and conference room. Brokers from CBRE are marketing the new suites for an undisclosed price. The Seattle life science market is showing signs of increased activity, with 400,000 square feet of demand recorded by CBRE, up from 250,000 square feet last year.

    However, the vacancy rate for investor-owned labs in Seattle remains high at 37%, and the asking price for Class A labs has fallen to $73.73 per square foot, down from the mid-$80s since 2021. Despite this, venture capital investment in life sciences has shown new signs of life, with Washington's biotechnology sector seeing a 91% jump in investments last quarter. KKR's purchase is part of its $80 billion real estate portfolio.