Demand for life science and biotechnology office space is on the rise as the sector buckled down to lead the race for a coronavirus vaccine. This paved the way for a new wave of developments, further solidifying the sector’s position as a pandemic-fueled economic engine. San Diego is already home to one of the nation’s top life science clusters, and its downtown is bound to shift due to Stockdale Capital Partners’ upcoming Campus at Horton, dubbed one of the largest adaptive reuse and urban tech campuses in the Western U.S.

Founded in 2010, Stockdale Capital Partners specializes in the redevelopment and repositioning of assets in the Southwest, focusing on revitalizing urban properties of all types. It is also well-known for transforming distressed shopping centers into desirable high-tech, mixed-use office hubs, having previously worked on projects in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Los Angeles.

The company purchased Horton Plaza, a once-vibrant downtown mall, from Westfield in August 2018, with the intention of transforming the post-modern buildings into a life science destination encompassing 770,000 square feet of office space. The project will also include 300,000 square feet of specialty retail—half the space it was initially designed to include, due to the retail sector’s current decline.

The development team places emphasis on sustainability and improved energy performance, aiming for LEED Platinum, WELL Platinum and WiredScore certifications. When completed in early 2022, The Campus at Horton will house close to 4,000 high-quality jobs. Stockdale’s Leo Divinsky, managing director of asset management, elaborates on this large-scale project’s feasibility and green building practices, and the impact it has on California’s niche workforce.