Longtime business partners Hugues Harvey and Marc LeBel have acquired a 700,000-square-foot life-sciences megacomplex in Quebec City.

Harvey and LeBel announced that they plan to convert the property into a life sciences hub after the site’s previous owner Mitsubishi deployed it as a COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing plant through subsidiary Medicago.

The facility is located at 2300 d’Estimauville Avenue. Hugues is the president of HarveyCorp, and LeBel, formerly served as president of NuChem Sciences-Sygnature while also founding Anaphar.

“Centres of excellence are recognized for stimulating innovation, in addition to promoting the attraction of talent and private investment,” said LeBel in a news release. “This ambitious project will, therefore, meet the growing needs of the life-sciences sector in Quebec City, but will also contribute to strengthening the already recognized expertise of the [Quebec City] region in this strategic industry.”

The partners plan to invest tens of millions of dollars to convert the facility, which includes laboratories, clean rooms, office, and industrial spaces, into a comprehensive life-sciences centre. The redeveloped complex will host private companies, incubators, and public health organizations, aiming to become a major destination for life sciences in the region. Discussions with several interested companies are already underway, with redevelopment expected to begin in early 2025 and the first tenants projected to move in by 2026.

“Centres of excellence are recognized for stimulating innovation, in addition to promoting the attraction of talent and private investment,” said Marc LeBel. “This ambitious project will therefore meet the growing needs of the life sciences sector in Quebec City, but will also contribute to strengthening the already recognized expertise of the Capitale-Nationale region in this strategic industry.”

“In recent years, we have developed unique expertise in converting buildings into laboratory spaces dedicated to life sciences,” said Harvey. “We can, therefore, attest to the great potential of the 2300 Estimauville complex. We are convinced that we can develop a structuring project there for industry players and, more broadly, for the entire economy of the Greater Quebec City region.”

The acquisition was financed by private Quebec investors, including François Laflamme, founder of OmegaChem.

HarveyCorp has developed approximately 500,000 sf of laboratory spaces dedicated to life sciences. After launching Anapharm, LeBel grew the contract research organization into a firm of 1,200 employees that generated $150 million in annual revenue.