Biotech Boom? Not in Real Estate

Buildings designed for biotech are emptying. In the last year, vacancy has risen from 14.4 percent to more than 20 percent in San Mateo County, according to BT Commercial Real Estate. In the same time, it's gone from less than 4 percent to 10.5 percent in South San Francisco. Much the same is happening in San Diego, another biotech hotbed. That area's 6 million square feet of biotech space spread over three major markets has seen its vacancy swing in the last two years from 6 percent to more than 22 percent, according to Andy Head of the biotech advisory group for San Diego's BRE Commercial.

Blanket explanations for the industry's struggles are difficult to find. Matt Gardner, president of BayBio, the Northern California bioscience association, notes that the industry is not immune to the economy's larger forces. Mergers and acquisitions, and resulting consolidation, also have played a role, others say.

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