The Perryman Group says that the built-out development will generate 15,182 jobs.

By Will Maddox | DMagazine | September 5, 2024 | 2:39 pm

A fully developed Pegasus Park will generate $1.9 billion in economic impact and 15,182 jobs, according to a new white paper from The Perryman Group. The life science and nonprofit hub is an integral part of a $12.4 billion industry in the region.

The figures come from Texas-based research firm’s newest report, The Current and Future Economic and Fiscal Benefits of the Life Sciences Sector, which highlights the impact of the 26-acre life science and nonprofit development on the market. Pegasus Park is joined by a host of other projects and data to support the industry’s growth. A recent report from CBRE ranked Dallas No. 6 in the country for emerging biotech markets. The Plano City Council recently approved tax incentives for a 135-acre life science development to redevelop the former EDS campus. Texas Instruments was just awarded $1.6 billion in federal funding to build its semiconductor manufacturing facility in Sherman and Utah.

Pegasus Park has already landed shared membership-based lab and office space giant BioLabs, and its Bridge Labs facility is under construction. Global innovation accelerator Mass Challenge also announced in 2022 that it would expand to North Texas in Pegasus Park. McKesson, UT Southwestern, Health Wildcatters, and social impact hub Water Cooler have also found new homes at the development, as have 20 biotech companies.

The report says that Pegasus Park’s construction jobs have generated $165.4 million in gross product and 1,512 job years. Bridge Labs, which is a 135,000-square-foot facility meant to help life science startups expand once they have grown out of BioLabs space, is expected to generate an additional $105.5 million in gross product and 965 job years. Operations today at Pegasus Park are expected to generate $347.7 million in gross product each year and 2,850 jobs. When the development is fully built, Perryman Group said Pegasus Park will generate $1.9 billion in annual gross product and 15,182 jobs.

“Pegasus Park is serving as a critical catalyst for the development of life sciences in the Dallas area, the surrounding region, and the state,” said Ray Perryman, President and CEO of The Perryman Group. “Its innovative structure is helping to bring key people and activities together in a way that will also serve to maximize the benefits of new discoveries to society. Texas has long been behind other states in the life sciences area but is now emerging as a growth leader. Pegasus Park is a leading force in this rapidly growing sector.”

Pegasus Park is both a catalyst and beneficiary of the momentum Dallas has in the biotech and life science markets. The City of Dallas touts other factors that make the city attractive to biotech companies. At UT Dallas, 76 percent of students graduate with a STEM degree, and Dallas-Fort Worth ranks No. 6 in the country in retaining higher education graduates. UTSW receives $400 million yearly from the National Institutes of Health, and DFW airport is one of only two airports in North America with an IATA CIEV Pharma-certified cold storage logistics facility. Notably, the area is a growing source of capital funding, with $1.1 billion in venture capital funding in the region, according to the city.

The report found that the life science industry in the region generates $12.4 billion in gross product and more than 91,000 jobs each year. By 2050, the report predicts North Texas will generate $25.3 billion in gross product and more than 185,000 jobs in the life science space.

“In the past, investors may have nailed down one or two reasons for coming to Dallas,” says Dr. Hubert Zajicek, co-founder and CEO of Health Wildcatters. “Now, they are trying to find other purpose-driven entities or organizations to visit, and this makes things easier because of the spotlight.”