Vero Biotech Moves HQ to Atlanta

By Barbra Murray

Technology Enterprise Park, 387 Technology Circle NW, Atlanta

Atlanta has reeled in another headquarters tenant. Vero Biotech recently wrapped up the relocation of its home base from Cocoa, Fla., to Georgia Tech’s Technology Enterprise Park (TEP) in Midtown Atlanta.

Vero Biotech has set up shop in a nearly 15,600-square-foot space at 387 Technology Circle NW. With its name on the tenant roster of the 236,700-square-foot office and lab building, the emerging biotechnology company has attained a certain instant cachet, as the 11-acre park is widely considered the premier biotech research park in the city.

“The decision to move the company to Atlanta was multifaceted, but one of the main reasons was that Atlanta is a growing hub for pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The city is full of innovators such as Vero Biotech, and we wanted to work within that environment and also closely with Georgia Tech,” Namita Khanna, executive director of strategic development with Vero Biotech, told Commercial Property Executive.

Vero Biotech’s Class A accommodations at TEP include laboratories with state-of-the-art clean rooms, administrative support space and a conference facility.  Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant in the lease transaction, while Richard Bowers & Co. stood in for the landlord.

Vero Biotech officially opened its new headquarters on April 6. The company will relocate its administrative, R&D and manufacturing operations over the next six to 12 months. Vero Biotech also plans to add 40 positions to its current staff of 65 within the next year.

“Relocating to Atlanta also gave us the ability to attract top talent who were willing to move to the area based upon the demographics and all that Atlanta has to offer such as a rich history, skyrocketing rates of job growth, and desirable neighborhoods,” Khanna said. “In addition to that, Atlanta has a world class airport, top dining options, and a growing city with a reasonable cost of living.”

MAKING A HOME IN HOTLANTA

There are more than a few reasons why businesses are choosing to relocate their headquarters to Atlanta, and, as Khanna noted, the city’s low cost of living is one of them. A 2017 study from The Metro Atlanta Chamber and Deloitte Consulting involving seven of the largest MSAs in the country found that Atlanta’s cost of living is 33 percent lower than that of the other surveyed MSAs, including Chicago, Dallas and Seattle. Additionally, per the study, “ATL’s low cost of doing business, including a tax index that is 14 percent more favorable than its closest competitor, outpaces all other MSAs in the study.”

Companies that have taken a shine to Atlanta recently include medical device manufacturer Koning Corp., which revealed in late 2017 that it would move its headquarters from Rochester, N.Y., to Atlanta, and bring with it 400 new jobs. In January of this year, French automobile manufacturer Groupe PSA shared its plan to establish its new North American headquarters in Fulton County, becoming the 20th company to announce a headquarters relocation or major expansion in Atlanta since 2010. Realizing its 2015 commitment to Atlanta, Mercedes-Benz USA officially opened its 200,000-square-foot headquarters in Sandy Springs in March.

Image courtesy of Cushman & Wakefield