Biopharma Biz Pays $41M To Not Move

One of New Haven’s biggest biopharma success stories won’t be moving into 160,000 square feet of brand new office and lab space at the 101 College St. biosciences tower after all — and has agreed to pay $41.5 million to nix its lease and stay put in Science Park.

That’s according to an Aug. 15 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing by Arvinas, a decade-old company based out of Science Park that develops drugs to fight breast cancer, prostate cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s.

Hearst Connecticut’s Luther Turmelle first broke the news of Arvinas’s decision on Thursday.

Back in 2021, Arvinas signed a lease with an affiliate of the Massachusetts-based developer Winstanley Enterprises to occupy 163,784 square feet of lab and office space on the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors of 101 College St. It had planned to move into the expanded lab and office space at 101 College by 2024, and make the new building its company headquarters.

In the intervening years, Arvinas has only grown and grown, raising $2 billion in capital, hosting philanthropic pizza-making events, and reaching over 400 employees. According to Arvinas spokesperson Kirsten Owens, roughly 55 percent of those employees work in Connecticut. Another 15 percent work in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, and are periodically in the company’s Connecticut headquarters.

According to the Aug. 15 SEC filing, Arvinas has now terminated its lease agreement with Winstanley, and won’t be moving into 101 College after all.

It’s also agreed to pay Winstanley a ​“one-time cash termination fee” of $41.5 million.

Owens said that Arvinas worked with Winstanley Enterprises to reach the agreement, including the one-time $41.5 million payment. ​“While this is of course a large amount up front, there will be savings over the next 10 years,” she said. ​“Our business will continue as usual.”

And why did Arvinas decide to not move into 101 College after all these years of planning to expand and relocate?

“The decision was prompted by our realization that we do not need the extra space,” Owens continued. ​“The pandemic encouraged new ways of working and we’ve now embraced a geographically diverse workforce with remote employees based across the country, in addition to our onsite employees, of course. Arvinas’ headquarters will remain at Science Park, which is able to accommodate our current and future space needs. 101 College St. was meant to serve as our second location within New Haven.”

The 10-story, 500,000 square-feet life sciences research and office building at 101 College St., meanwhile, opened earlier this year after almost two years of construction. Some of its other tenants include Yale University, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, and BioLabs New Haven, the latter of which has partnered with the city and New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) to set up new ​“BioCity” classrooms at the biotech hub.

“The City and our development partners have long supported the creation of more high-quality space to support the needs of a growing bioscience sector,” city Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli told the Independent on Thursday.

He heralded Arvinas for ​“advancing breakthrough treatments,” and said its current home at Winchester Works in Science Park is a Arvinas is ​“a great location as their discoveries advance over time.”

Looking ahead, Piscitelli continued, ​“we will continue forward-progress at 101 College Street and the soon-to-be-launched Science at Square 10, providing our community with best-in-class innovation clusters citywide.”

Carter Winstanley, who runs the company that built and owns 101 College St., reinforced Arvinas’s public statements that ​“the pandemic encouraged new ways of working, which included adding remote employees across the country in addition to their on-site employees.”

This resulted in the company needing less space, he said, and so Winstanley Enterprises worked with Arvinas to ​“meet their evolving real estate requirements.”

He concluded: ​“We remain very optimistic about the future of 101 College Street.”

Click on the above video to watch a February 2024 conversation with Arvinas Chief Medical Officer Ron Peck on WNHH FM’s ​“Dateline New Haven.”