Construction underway on final phase of AbCellera headquarters in Vancouver

Artistic rendering of the AbCellera campus' east building at 110 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, with the west building in the background. (Francl Architecture/AbCellera)

AbCellera is moving quickly with its plans to further solidify its corporate and research presence within the Mount Pleasant Industrial Area in Vancouver.

Construction officially commenced Tuesday on the east wing of the biotech firm’s global headquarters building at 110 West 4th Avenue, which forms the second phase of the project. It is being built on the site of A&B Party Event Rentals.

The west wing of the global headquarters at 150 West 4th Avenue on the same city block has been under construction for some time.

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In late 2021, Vancouver City Council approved the nine-storey building for the east wing and a two-storey vertical expansion of the five-storey building already under construction for the west wing.

Construction groundbreaking of AbCellera’s global headquarters’ east wing at 110 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, on September 13, 2022. (AbCellera)

Site of the future east wing of AbCellera’s global headquarters at 110 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

Both east and west buildings combined will have a total floor area of about 380,000 sq ft, with the east building carrying 212,000 sq ft and the west building with 169,000 sq ft. The east building’s uses are split as 70% for state-of-the-art flexible laboratory uses, and 30% as office and support spaces.

The two-building headquarters campus provides AbCellera with ample room to grow, potentially adding as many as 1,000 employees by 2028.

Under the recommendation of City staff, City Council considered last year’s rezoning application simultaneously with the development permit application under an expedited, streamlined process. The Vancouver-founded company’s work is highly valued by the municipal government for economic and high-paying job creation reasons, and also for the requirements of its expansion pipeline.

The company gained global attention and recognition for its rapid development and production of bamlanivimab, which has been used on an emergency basis for treating symptomatic individuals with COVID-19. The United States government ordered another 600,000 doses of the drug in early November 2021, with the company’s second monoclonal antibody for COVID-19, bebtelovimab, receiving Emergency Use Authorization from the US FDA in February 2022.

Additionally, AbCellera is also developing over 150 therapeutic treatments, including therapies to treat cancer, autoimmune conditions, pain, and neurodegeneration.

Artistic rendering of the AbCellera campus’ east building at 110 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, with the west building in the background. (Francl Architecture/AbCellera)

January 2022 construction progress on the west wing of AbCellera’s global headquarters at 150 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. (Google Maps)

abcellera vancouver office lab locations

Map of AbCellera’s existing and future office/lab locations in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant Industrial Area. (AbCellera)

The west wing is expected to reach completion in 2023, and the east wing is slated for completion in 2024.

The east building that just began construction is a partnership with local developer Beedie, while the west building is a partnership with Dayhu Group, Lark Group, and ICT Group. AbCellera is involved in both buildings in the capacities of co-owner and long-term tenant.

In addition to the new city block-sized headquarters, AbCellera is retaining its existing nearby lab and office locations of 2215 Yukon Street (33,500 sq ft) and 2131 Manitoba Street (45,000 sq ft).

AbCellera also has plans to construct a 130,000 sq ft Good Manufacturing Practices facility for the production of therapeutic antibody treatments. This separate facility at 900 Evans Avenue, located just north of Home Depot in the False Creek Flats, will employ hundreds of people. The federal government has also committed $175 million in funding towards this particular facility.

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