Next phase moves ahead at Dallas’ blossoming biotech hub Pegasus Park

The life sciences campus northwest of downtown is growing.

By Steve Brown

12:48 PM on Sep 14, 2023

Construction crews are topping out construction soon on the next phase of the Pegasus Park project northwest of downtown Dallas.

The 26-acre life sciences campus on Stemmons Freeway near Love Field has been under development for more than three years. J. Small Investments, in partnership with Lyda Hill Philanthropies, is redeveloping the commercial complex that includes an 18-story central tower.

Construction firm Swinerton is building the next phase of Pegasus Park – a 135,000-square-foot research and development building that will be called Bridge Labs. Montgomery Street Partners is a partner in the project.

The contractors plan to complete the building structure next month and finish the space in mid-2024. The new building at 3020 Pegasus Park Drive is adjacent to the BioLabs location that opened in 2020.

The Bridge Labs development includes demolishing one building on the campus and new construction of two adjoining buildings.

Property Management Advisors and Perkins & Will Architects worked on the Bridge Labs building with Swinerton.

“Bridge Labs will serve as Dallas’ premier life sciences destination, and we are proud to develop space that drives collaboration and innovation,” Montgomery Street’s Grant Dziuda said in a statement.

The Pegasus Park buildings once housed offices for Zale Corp. and Mobil Oil Co. J. Small Investments bought the property in 2015 and began the redevelopment.

“The impact of Pegasus Park on the Dallas area can’t be overstated,” said Tyler Whitaker, vice president and division manager of Swinerton’s Dallas office, in a statement.

Pegasus Park is being promoted by a coalition of Texas cities as a potential site for the federal government’s new biomedical research agency. For more than a year, science advocates conducted a targeted campaign to convince lawmakers that Texas is the right fit for the $2.5 billion Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, a Biden administration undertaking to accelerate biomedical health and technology discoveries.

Dallas leaders joined forces with Austin and San Antonio in a bid to win one of three coveted ARPA-H sites. One will be in Washington, D.C., and the remaining two are expected to be announced this fall.

The battle for the ARPA-H hub will be competitive, with the Dallas, Austin and San Antonio delegation likely up against bids from biotech homes like California’s Silicon Valley or North Carolina’s Research Triangle. A Houston coalition spearheaded by the Texas Medical Center also is competing for one.