The Revolution Labs office-lab conversion in in Lexington. Image courtesy of SGA

A 7.8 million-square-foot pipeline of office building conversions to lab-ready space accounts for nearly 30 percent of Greater Boston’s life science inventory, exceeding the national average for commercial real estate markets.

Conversions of office buildings to lab-ready space comprise 20 percent of all life science construction in the U.S., according to a Newmark survey of 11 metros with sizeable life science industries.

In Greater Boston, developers such as Nan Fung Life Sciences Real Estate and Greatland Realty Partners are in the midst of speculative office-to-lab conversions designed to attract biotech growth as the venture capital growth in the local industry accelerates.

Boston-based Greatland broke ground in April on Revolution Labs, in a conversion of a 180,000-square-foot office building in Lexington, and this month acquired the four-building 10 Maguire Road complex in Lexington for a planned life science project.

Nan Fung is converting 51 Sleeper St. and One Winthrop Square in Boston into spec lab suites, while IQHQ is seeking to demolish a vacant office and retail building at 109 Brookline Ave. in the Fenway for a 250,000-square-foot lab building. IQHQ also is focusing on suburban office acquisitions, such as the 4 Corporate Drive campus in Andover.

According to a new report by Newmark researchers, the record $12.2 billion in venture capital raised by life science companies in the first quarter is driving industry growth beyond the top hubs of Boston-Cambridge and San Francisco. Seattle, Philadelphia, New York City and Chicago have emerged as growth clusters.

“While the cost of conversion is substantial and land use/zoning challenges could prove problematic in some jurisdictions, demand for high-quality lab space is solidly outstripping existing supply,” the report states.