Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR) has added to its life science, medical and innovation center portfolio, the company announced on Tuesday.

The Chicago-based real estate investment trust (REIT) recently purchased a life science, research and medical campus in Providence, Rhode Island, from affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Partners VIII L.P. The total purchase price was about $151 million, according to a company press release.

The acquisition’s principal assets include South Street Landing—a 269,000-square-foot building that’s currently being renovated—and a newly constructed garage adjacent to South Street Landing. The building is 100% leased to Brown University for academic administrative offices, as well as to the Nursing Education Center, an initiative between the nursing programs of Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island.

South Street Landing and the adjacent garage were purchased for almost $130 million. The redevelopment, which includes simulation facilities and advanced medical teaching labs, is almost finished and is scheduled to be fully occupied by late 2017.

Ventas also purchased sites adjacent to South Street Landing, which will likely be targets for development and redevelopment. These additional sites were purchased for $21 million.

Ventas funded the Providence acquisition with cash on hand and various other capital sources, according to the press release. The company anticipates that the investment will be accretive to 2017 normalized FFO per share.

With the addition of the new campus in Providence, Ventas has committed to or completed more than $350 million of follow-on acquisitions and development projects in its university-centered life science, medical and innovation center portfolio.

“The Providence acquisition adds newly developed, state-of-the-art facilities to Ventas’s high-quality life science, medical and innovation center portfolio, expands the Company’s relationships with leading research universities and provides significant opportunities for future growth,” Ventas Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer John Cobb said in the press release. “With our leading platform in Wexford, we are the premier capital provider for university-based research and medical facilities. We are delighted to support top tier universities like Brown as they drive their research, medical and innovation agendas.”

Wexford Science + Technology LLC plans to separately develop a student housing residence with 174 units on the Providence campus for medical, graduate and upper-level nursing students, Ventas noted in the press release.

Written by Mary Kate Nelson

Photo source: Business Wire press release