Winchester Partners Signs Lease With Halda Therapuetics

Press release from Winchester Works:

Nov. 11, 2020

Winchester Partners, a joint venture of Twining Properties, L+M Development Partners and the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, announced today that Halda Therapeutics has signed a lease for 9,800 square feet of laboratory and office space at the Winchester Works technology and life sciences campus in the heart of New Haven’s Prospect Hill neighborhood and across the street from Yale’s Science Hill. JLL, the exclusive leasing agent for Winchester Works, brokered the deal.

Halda, a drug discovery company founded from Yale University and funded by top venture capital firms, is the latest company to join the growing life sciences community in New Haven, and this lease agreement highlights the unique role the Winchester Works campus will play in the city’s burgeoning biotech sector.

“The City of New Haven is poised to lead the next biotech expansion, and Winchester Works is ready to welcome the companies that will drive future growth,” said Jake Pine, Director at L+M Development Partners. “Our campus is open for business today, while other life science developments in New Haven are still years from completion. Laboratory space has been a critical need in New Haven for the biotech industry, and we are pleased to house brand new labs and office space for Halda as the first life science Tenant at Winchester Works.”

“We are thrilled to be moving back to New Haven, given our close ties with Professor Craig Crews’ lab at Yale University,” said Scott Phillips, Chief Financial Officer at Halda Therapeutics. “The team at Winchester Works has shown itself to be a leader in bringing much-needed biotechnology lab space into New Haven. Specifically, this space allows us to expand our research capabilities and prepare for growth. We are excited for our scientists to discover the next generation of precision therapies in this innovative setting in New Haven.”

“We welcome Halda Therapeutics to the Winchester Works campus in what we are sure will be the first of many innovative tenants to occupy this vibrant new engine for the biotech industry,” said Alex Twining, CEO of Twining Properties. "We are excited that Halda will be joining the Works campus as we initiate the renovation and development of this exceptional property.”

“We are very excited to welcome Halda to New Haven. There is a meaningful nature to the work and innovation happening all across the city. We wish Halda success not only with its move to Science Park, but also in its research and development activities,” said Michael Piscitelli, Economic Development Administrator for the City of New Haven.

Built in 2012, the 145,000-square-foot Class A office building at 115 Munson Street was the first new office building constructed in New Haven in more than 20 years. Winchester Office LLC purchased the property in late 2019 and is in the process of preparing the building for life sciences tenants, overhauling the entrance and lobby and revamping the rooftop amenity space. Bank Mobile, a company which provides college students with digital checking accounts, has already taken 34,000 square feet of space, while Transact Campus, a cashless campus technology company, is occupying 12,000 square feet.

The Works is the first stage in the Winchester Center master plan, which could eventually include the four remaining buildings and four development sites in Science Park at Yale, all part of New Haven CT’s former Winchester Factory that once employed 25,000 people. Winchester Center could eventually include over 1,000 apartments, retail space and 500,000 square feet of office and lab space.

Halda Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery of novel therapies through the creation of innovative molecules that modify disease-causing pathways. Halda was founded by Professor Craig Crews, John C. Malone Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacology at Yale University, and its science is being advanced by a highly experienced drug discovery team. The Company completed a $25 million Series A financing led by Canaan Partners, 6 Dimensions Capital, Wuxi Healthcare Ventures, Elm Street Ventures and Connecticut Innovations in February 2019. Halda plans to relocate to New Haven in the first quarter 2021.

This press release was produced by Winchester Works. The views expressed here are the author's own.