BOMA Program on Managing Life Science Assets Attracted a Sold-Out Crowd

The life science sector is expanding in the East Bay, and the sold-out BOMA program in April attracted an audience that was eager to learn more about the ins and outs of managing life science assets.

“Life science is one of the fastest growing fields, and we wanted to give a general overview and highlight some of the differences in managing Class A offices versus life science,” said Gretchen Whipple, Assistant Property Manager, BioMed Realty. Whipple serves on the BOMA OEB Education and Careers Workgroup and helped to organize the program.

Panelists included two presenters from Transwestern: Blake Peterson, Managing Senior Vice President, Asset Services | Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, and Charley Berthoud, Chief Engineer at One and Two Tower Place, South San Francisco. The program was held at

Gate510 in San Leandro, described on its website as “an innovative tech and biotech campus in San Leandro for scientists, entrepreneurs, makers, creators and visionaries to collaborate, create, invent and work.”

Life Science PM Responsibilities

Key differences between managing life science and office assets are 24/7 availability and extended building hours. The relationship between the property management team and a best-in-class engineering team is critical. Property management is also required to manage specialty contractors; environmental health and safety contracts, inspections and training; loading docks; hazmat disposal and storage; tenant equipment and maintenance; fuel maintenance programs for generators; emergency response plans; and construction coordination. Effective tenant communications are paramount.

Managing Life Science Assets (Continued from previous page)

Life Science Leases

Leases for life science tenants also differ and may include: specific electrical watts per square foot, permitted uses, access control limitations, leak detection requirements, tenant-provided janitorial, whether HVAC and submetering are provided, special environmental and pollution liability insurance coverage, potential landlord penalties for extended interruption of utilities/services, and detailed moveout and restoration requirements for decommissioning.

Building Characteristics

Life science buildings feature characteristics that differ from office buildings, such as: large loading docks, separate lab exhaust systems, higher floor-load capacity, redundant MEP systems with back-ups, specialty fire protection, enhanced filtration systems, clean rooms. The premises may include: mobile modular lab benches, sinks throughout, eye wash, emergency shower, above-standard electricity and HVAC capacity with redundancy, and the distribution of various gases.

Engineering Perspectives

Chief Engineer Charley Berthoud shared valuable insights at the program and in a follow-up interview. “The complexity of the base building systems that serve these two types of spaces (office and life science) are governed by basic design parameters that differ significantly,” he noted. “The most significant is that life science spaces are critical systems environments. Critical systems are power, HVAC, lab exhaust, clean dry air (CDA) systems, water.”

In addition, power requirements are much higher in life science buildings, on both the emergency and base sides of the house. Metering all power and managing the available amount of e-power available to tenants is important.

Ventilation requirements are roughly four times higher in lab spaces than in office spaces, necessitating multiple pieces of HVAC equipment to handle both the incoming air, but exhaust air as well. (Exhaust air is one of the critical systems mentioned above.)

What do property management professionals need to know about engineering issues in these types of assets?

“Critical systems failures must be avoided at all costs. To do that, a comprehensive maintenance program must exist,” said Berthoud. “I don’t care who you have to use (union, non-union, contractor), but you need to be able to have faith in their ability to quickly resolve critical system issues. You will be working with them very closely, and trust is key.”

He emphasized that there are more regulatory rules and inspections to keep track of. “You will have the local fire department, county health, fire alarm, fire sprinkler, air quality management, and others regularly needing access to your buildings. Many of these inspections come with penalties and potential citations to your owner if they are not maintained. Take the time to get to know the inspectors; they can be really helpful. I always welcome any inspector to any site I’m on. It’s a great opportunity to build goodwill with them, and they will share much more information with you.”

“Here at The Towers, we regularly allow the fire department to bring graduating cadets through the common spaces of our buildings to see evacuation routes, stairs, etc.,” Berthoud remarked.

“TI and construction in occupied life science buildings have a higher number of requirements. Your tenants may have specific needs for vibration and noise that need to be understood. You may have a vivarium (space with live animals) with needs. An example of this would be when a tenant is in the process of going through FDA trials or site inspections for a drug approval,” he explained. “A power shutdown for construction would be ill-advised, but how would you know? It’s very important to have rapport with tenants and contractors, as a high level of communication is required.”

Principal Profile

Jennifer Bartolomei, Property Manager

PJMB Commercial

Property Manager Jennifer Bartolomei oversees office and R&D buildings throughout the East Bay and South Bay for PJMB Commercial, running the properties’ day-to-day operations. PJMB focuses on a value-add approach for all asset types. The privately held real estate services company offers asset management, property management, construction management and contract management services.

Before launching her commercial real estate career, Bartolomei was on the residential side of real estate management. “I always wanted to move into commercial real estate and when an opportunity arose six years ago, I made the transition,” she says. “I’ve enjoyed continuing to grow as a manager and learning more about this forever-changing industry.”

Currently Bartolomei chairs the Education and Careers Workgroup at BOMA OEB. “Being involved with this workgroup has helped me grow not only professionally, but personally. Having the opportunity to participate in planning the educational series, Backpack to Briefcase, as well as educational luncheons, has been very rewarding,” she adds.

Bartolomei recently obtained the CMCPTM (Certified Manager of Commercial Properties) certification, a program administered by BOMI for early-stage property professionals. The certification demonstrates an ability to be an effective commercial property manager and a strong understanding of the responsibilities of the role. “Obtaining my CMCP furthered my industry knowledge,” she says. “I took the course associated with the program to help me prepare for the test, which I highly recommend. Having been in the industry for only a few years, there were items on the test that I had not experienced first-hand, and the course prepared me for it.”

Outdoor activities energize Bartolomei during her off-hours. “I really enjoy hiking with my pup and snowboarding with my son in the winter,” she says. “We have recently started to surf, which is challenging but amazing.”