< Back to Blog

San Diego Groundbreaking Confirms the Commitment of BioLegend to Legendary Discovery and Building a Home for Top Talent

Renderings of BioLegend Campus provided by Delawie.

Groundbreaking on Phase Two of the Campus Development aims to provide a home for top talent and engage the international life science and biotech community.

A new landmark is coming to Sorrento Mesa, a suburb of San Diego. BioLegend, Inc., the global leader in life science, continues to plan for future growth and the Hughes Marino Project Management team is proud to be part of it.

BioLegend and Hughes Marino have worked together for over seven years and in 2015 Hughes Marino represented BioLegend in the purchase of the four-building campus at Terman Court, previously occupied by Sony Online. The site was originally 7.5-acres of land partially divided by the Terman Court cul-de-sac leading to four existing tilt-up concrete buildings. The San Diego Planning Commission recently approved the vacation of Terman Court allowing the space to become part of the new BioLegend Campus.

Hughes Marino San  Diego width=
The BioLegend team in action at the groundbreaking ceremony. Photo by Sandy Huffaker.

On just over 8-acres of land, Hughes Marino Project Management and architect Delawie have worked with BioLegend to create the updated inclusive campus design. The design is equipped with a new 7-story, 700-stall parking garage tucked behind the new main building that extends south along the west end of the site. At the southern end of the new main building stands the landmark 70-foot tall atrium with a pedestrian bridge that connects the atrium to the refurbished Administrative and Amenity Building. Creative landscaping surrounds the structures to offer all team members a place to relax or informally meet outside.

The BioLegend Campus design is a fresh look compared to the previously published design. Gene Lay, CEO and Founder of BioLegend explained, “We recently completed Phase 1 and we learned a lot through that design, permitting and construction process. We took a close look at ourselves as a company, as a family, and decided to prioritize specific features that prove we value our team, encouraging collaboration between departments, and providing functional and efficient lab space.” Adding, “We want the biotech industry to recognize BioLegend and this campus as a place of legendary discovery.”

Hughes Marino San  Diego width=

Focusing on the new main building the key feature is the massive atrium. As the focal point of the BioLegend Campus, the atrium leads the way to the upper floors of the building where labs, offices, break rooms and conference rooms strategically commingle. The lab space is laid out to maintain open floor plans structured to encourage collaboration while maintaining appropriate safety precautions. Straight, efficient lines on the inside differ from the creative office and outdoor amenity space elsewhere on the BioLegend Campus.

Standing on the top story of the main building, and looking across the BioLegend Campus, the view is filled with the green roof along with scattered picnic tables and bridges leading the way to the massive center circle that doubles as a lunch area during the day and event space in the evening. During inclement weather, associates can take shelter through the large bi-folding doors to the 500-person multi-purpose room situated under the green roof.

BioLegend recognizes that healthy employees make for happy employees which make for a productive workspace. Walking across the bridge to the top floor of the Administrative Building you enter creative office space. Cross-functionality to increase efficiency between departments is critical. BioLegend understands which departments need to be adjacent to each other in order to encourage collaboration and efficiency, explained by Kim Clark, Vice President of Human Resources, “The office space is welcoming and encourages collaboration but will also offer workstations and private rooms for focused efforts.”

Hughes Marino San  Diego width=
Hughes Marino’s Dean Peterson, David Marino and Nik Bandak at the groundbreaking ceremony. Photo by Sandy Huffaker.

A BioLegend Campus wouldn’t be complete without a kitchen and a gym. Indeed, these were the two most sought after amenities according to a survey of team members for their site wish list. “A large portion of our team is of the Millennial generation–and we love it! They are creative and encourage us to view processes and operations in a different way. Everyone on our team works incredibly hard so the gym, kitchen, yoga rooms, game room, and other amenity spaces will encourage even more collaboration and relaxation between focused sessions,” said Gene Lay, “We want to encourage a healthy lifestyle.”

As a growing biotech company that values its family, BioLegend wanted to create an environment worthy of the best talent and a place that exudes collaboration and legendary discovery. Working with recently selected general contractor, DPR Construction, the project team and BioLegend will break ground in mid-August and work to complete the BioLegend Campus by March of 2019.

Hughes Marino’s industry leading Construction Management team has unmatched expertise in every type of commercial building project from tenant improvements to ground-up build-to-suits. With decades of experience in California and beyond, our project managers, engineers and LEED APs offer practical insights for the construction management professional.



hughes marino construction roundup august 20171
Previous Story

Construction Roundup: Certona Corporation, Bespoke Partners, iProspect and More…

being impeccable with our word our june hm mini goal participants
Next Story

Being Impeccable with Our Word: Our June HM Mini Goal Participants