The Janus Property Company’s Stefan Weiss recently spoke at a Harlem Biospace event on February 6 at Columbia University’s Davis Auditorium. Weiss was joined by fellow panelists Michael Norsen, Principal and Head of Alexandria LaunchLabs at Columbia-NYC; Samuel Sia, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University and Co-Founder of Harlem Biospace; and Ofra Weinberger, Director of Licensing, Columbia Tech Ventures to discuss New York City’s burgeoning life sciences market. Weiss discussed the recently topped-out Taystee Lab Building and how the Manhattanville Factory District is bridging the West Harlem life sciences corridor from Columbia Manhattanville to the New York Structural Biology Center and City College.
Distinguished panelists examined the increasing prevalence of the life sciences industry across New York City, especially the developing clusters in West Harlem at Janus’ own Manhattanville Factory District and the innovation corridor at Columbia University. Panelists shared the importance of developing these spaces within New York to create economic development and meet the growing demand for space from life sciences users.
“It was an honor to join some of the brightest minds in New York’s life science community to discuss the developments that contribute to the growth of this ecosystem in New York City,” said Weiss.
The Taystee Lab Building is an 11-story, 350,000-square-foot, LEED-Certified, Class-A lab and office building in Janus’ master-planned Manhattanville Factory District in West Harlem. This state-of-the-art facility, designed by award-winning architecture and engineering firms LEVENBETTS, SLCE and BR+A, will house organizations specializing in the life sciences, technology, academia, non-profit, retail and the arts, among many other industry sectors allowed as-of-right in this mixed-use district. Additionally, the project offers nearly 20,000 square feet of outdoor space on multiple levels, including a landscaped courtyard that provides direct access from 125th street through the Manhattanville Factory District.
The Manhattanville Factory District is a master-planned neighborhood of more than one million square feet in West Harlem, developed by Janus and stretching from West 125th to West 128th Streets at Amsterdam Avenue at the A, B, C, D and 1 trains. A major focus has been to build an active streetscape integrated into the existing West Harlem fabric, including a significant new life science cluster to add to City College and Columbia University’s growing presence in this field. Design strategies preserve the existing architecture and spirit of the neighborhood while adding new state-of-the-art lab facilities. The District creates a collaborative corridor anchored by Columbia University, Columbia Medical Center, City College, New York Structural Biology Center and Harlem Biospace, and brings much-needed, publicly-accessible open space to this reimagined industrial neighborhood.
About Janus Property Company
The Janus Property Company is a developer, long-term owner and manager of commercial, mixed-use and residential properties in New York City with a current primary focus on the creative redevelopment of properties in West Harlem. Founded in 1989, Janus has offices in the Manhattanville Factory District. Janus has consistently undertaken challenging community development projects, creating enduring value for tenants, partners, lenders and the greater New York City community. It specializes in understanding the numerous complex issues involved in developing and managing real property in New York City, and in particular, New York’s emerging low and moderate income communities. This has resulted in an impressive array of successful projects ranging from the extensive rehabilitation and new construction of market rate and affordable rental and condominium housing to mixed-use projects and large-scale commercial neighborhood developments. www.janusproperty.com/
