An office complex in South San Francisco, under development by BioMed Realty, has attracted a mechanics lien worth $5.2 million.

The property, called Gateway of Pacific, is located at 1000 Gateway Boulevard. Construction on Gateway of Pacific was planned in three phases. Phase I, which is mostly complete, involves the construction of a 550,000 square-foot, 12 story building and a five story building connected by a five story atrium.

BioMed hired Turner Construction Company as the general contractor for Phase I. Phase I, which cost a total of $250 million, started in June of 2017. It was scheduled for completion in Q4 of 2019.

Phase II involves 440K square feet of laboratory space and two interconnected towers. Phase II is scheduled to be completed in early 2022.

Lastly, Phase III describes 350,000 square feet of class A lab space.

All in all, Gateway of Pacific will occupy 1.3 million square feet, complete with multiple dining spaces, common spaces, and other amenities. BioMed have committed $2.6 billion in California for the development of new buildings and the modernization of existing properties.

Subcontractor Lien Worth $5M+

Pacific Structures, Inc., a San Francisco-based subcontractor hired by general contractor Turner Construction, filed a $5.18 million mechanics lien on the project. The owner indicated in the mechanics lien is BMR 1000 Gateway, LP, a company headquartered in San Diego, CA.

The lien was filed in San Francisco County, the county where the property is located.

Contractors and suppliers can file mechanics liens if they’re unpaid on a construction project. They bind to the property itself, inhibiting its sale until the debt is satisfied.

Pacific Structures is dividing the total amount into two parts, most likely two sub-projects under the contract with Turner. The lien is divided into the amounts of approximately $3.1 million and $2 million, respectively.

Under California’s mechanics lien statutes, a lien must be enforced or released within 90 days of filing.

Construction Allowed to Continue in San Francisco

As of May, all small and large construction projects in San Francisco are permitted to continue, so long as they follow the coronavirus safety guidelines. This includes projects like Gateway of Pacific.

However, even though construction is allowed, there have been few new openings in the Bay Area in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Though San Francisco has 858 rooms under development, the city saw zero hotel openings this year.

Despite these figures, companies in the biotech industry are still pushing to get projects done. Amgen, the world’s largest biotech company, is set to occupy the building in early 2022, and other biotech companies are making big moves in the San Francisco area.