LCOR Acquires Taconic’s Upper East Side Life Sciences Site for $73M

Multifamily developer LCOR has acquired the development parcel at 309 East 94th Street on Manhattan's Upper East Side for $73 million. The seller, a joint venture involving Taconic Partners subsidiary Elevate Research Properties, Nuveen Real Estate, and Flatiron Equities, previously purchased the 87,000-square-foot assemblage between First and Second avenues for $70 million in December 2021.

The venture had originally slated the site for Iron Horse Labs, a planned eight-story, 200,000-square-foot Class A life sciences facility. The project secured a $79 million construction loan from Ares Commercial Real Estate in 2022 and broke ground in 2023. However, existing structures—including a five-story loft building, a two-story garage, and an auto repair shop—still occupy the property.

The transaction highlights ongoing recalibration across Manhattan's commercial sectors. Citywide life sciences leasing volume dropped 84 percent in the first quarter of 2026 according to CBRE data, prompting developers to divest specialized lab sites. For urban builders, the transaction illustrates how softening lab demand is creating prime acquisition opportunities for residential developers in core urban submarkets.