The Biotech Block

"Fifty years to the month after Watson and Crick's discovery of the double-helix pattern, the human genome map has just been announced complete, ushering in what Human Genome Project director Francis Collins terms "the true dawning of the genomic era." If that sounds reminiscent of the information-age paeans, there is some basis. Biotech, too, is founded on information-the biochemical user's manual for organic life called DNA that is stowed in the hearts of cells. In terms of real estate, however, any other similarity with high-tech seems questionable.Though biotech has been touted as the next wave to shrink the vacancy gap left in the dot-com wake, a prolonged look reveals this sector to be an entirely different order of life...To gain insight into the ongoing biotech issues, including the sector's value as a catalyst to commercial real estate trends and development, Reis's Sam Truitt speaks with Nancy J. Kelly, Senior Vice President of Spaulding Slye Colliers."