Life science facility opens in old Raleigh grocery store

Biosystems company TARGAN has officially opened its new facility called the Midtown BioCenter.

Gov. Roy Cooper attended Tuesday’s ribbon cutting at 350 East Six Forks Road. It’s the first life science-focused facility in the Midtown Raleigh area.

“When you think about this company and what it has done in the life sciences, biotech field, this sector that we have concentrated on recruiting here in North Carolina, we’re proud of what you’re doing and proud to be here today,” Cooper said.

The Morrisville-based company is leasing 100,000 square feet in the building, which is the site of a former Kroger Grocery store.

The company founded in 2015 says it creates high-speed, automated systems – like vaccine systems – to humanely maximize livestock production without using chemicals or antibiotics.

“We know that biotechnology and life sciences [are] the future, not only for what you’re trying to do essentially to feed the world, but also to make sure that agriculture remains as one of our strong economic drivers in North Carolina,” Cooper said.

Converting the former big box retail store into a health or life-sciences building is known as “medtail.”

Raleigh is one of the top four of five rapidly rising markets in this “medtail” trend, according to commercial realtor CBRE.

New construction of a site like the one on Six Forks Road would take between three to five years. The conversion was finished in about 14 months.

The post Life science facility opens in old Raleigh grocery store first appeared on WRAL TechWire.

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