Portland biotech firm AbSci has finalized a lease agreement to relocate its headquarters to the top floor of downtown Vancouver’s Hudson Building (5th and Main).
The firm had originally planned to move to the Port of Vancouver’s waterfront development at Terminal 1, but the company said the renovated former hotel didn’t meet its needs. The port’s Board of Commissioners rescinded their lease with AbSci earlier this month.
“We’ve been committed to finding a long-term home in Vancouver, but needed a space that could accommodate our unique requirements and continued growth for at least the next five years,” said Sean McClain, founder and CEO of AbSci, in a press release. “The Hudson Building’s modern layout allowed us to design an efficient and collaborative facility that will support the company’s growth for the foreseeable future.”
Renovations on the third floor space are expected to begin early next month. AbSci plans to turn the floor into a state-of-the-art lab facility with an open layout to encourage collaboration between teams and departments.
The company expects to move in during the fourth quarter of this year.
AbSci’s move across the river was supported by a number of community partners including Hudson Building developer Killian Pacific, the state of Washington and the Columbia River Economic Development Council (CREDC).
“We are excited that AbSci has found a long-term home in Clark County and look forward to continuing to work with the company along with our other private and public partners to growing the life sciences ecosystem in the community,” said CREDC President Mike Bomar. “The collaboration that has occurred to get to this point has created a great deal of energy and momentum on this front.”
Founded in 2011, AbSci currently has 14 full-time employees and anticipates adding another 20-30 new jobs within the next five years. The company has attributed its rapid growth to industry interest in its next-generation protein technology, which can reduce drug discovery timelines, streamline scale-up for commercial manufacturing and drastically reduce production costs.
Opened earlier this year, the Hudson Building is anchored by ground floor tenant Pacific Continental Bank.
