In a recent legal victory, the University of Washington (UW) emerged triumphant in its dispute with Alexandria Real Estate Equities over the development of the Portage Bay Crossing (PBX) innovation district. The state appeals court ruled in favor of UW, upholding the dismissal of Alexandria’s complaint by Thurston County Superior Court. While this decision marked a significant milestone for the university’s PBX project, Alexandria has announced its intention to take the matter to the state Supreme Court, prolonging the legal battle.
The dispute revolves around the development of an 11-story building in the heart of the PBX innovation district, which is designed to house academic and private research labs and offices. This project serves as a gateway to PBX, a 69-acre area envisioned as a collaborative hub where students, faculty experts, businesses, government entities, and nonprofits come together to address critical challenges.
Alexandria, the largest owner of life science land and office space in the United States, along with other prominent companies like BioMed Realty, Sabey, and Skanska, had responded to UW’s request for proposals. However, Wexford Science & Technology emerged as the chosen developer for the project, beating out the competition.
Wexford Science & Technology, based in Baltimore, won the project in 2022 with an estimated cost of $282.5 million for constructing the 340,000-square-foot building. UW’s capital costs for the project amounted to nearly $72 million. The university will lease 130,000 square feet at a cost of $150 million, according to a report in the Puget Sound Business Journal. The building will house the UW Clean Energy Institute’s test beds and two UW Medicine institutes. Wexford has enlisted the services of commercial real estate brokerage Colliers to find private tenants for the remaining lab and office space.
Alexandria’s lawsuit against the university sought to ensure that UW followed “proper and legal practices” in the procurement process for the W27 site. The university responded by asserting that Alexandria’s claim contradicted the company’s participation in the selection process.
Hart Cole, senior vice president of Alexandria, was quoted in the report stating, “Our goal has always been to simply require UW Facilities to correct its illegal practices. Students, the public, and taxpayers are entitled to the highest level of diligence from the University of Washington.” He expressed disappointment that the university chose to dispute the matter further rather than addressing the alleged issues.
UW is leasing 1.3 acres of land to Wexford for a duration of 80 years, with annual payments gradually increasing over the initial years. Ownership of the building will revert to the university after 80 years.
ZGF Architects, in collaboration with Affiliated Engineers Inc., KPFF, and Jones and Jones, designed the building, while Whiting-Turner serves as the general contractor. Construction was scheduled to commence in the spring.
