Image courtesy of SGA

A biotech company that’s been steadily expanding its footprint over the past 12 years is committing to anchor a new South Boston development by Marcus Partners.

Ginkgo Bioworks leased 150,000 square feet for the planned 228,000-square-foot development on a pair of parcels in the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park.

The project replaces the Au Bon Pain bakery and headquarters with a 219,000-square-foot lab building while converting a small manufacturing building into a 9,000-square-foot amenity space, according to the project notification form filed with the Boston Planning & Development Agency.

Ginkgo Bioworks has raised over $700 million in venture funding, including $290 million in a series E round completed in 2019. The company, which develops processes for companies in industries ranging from agriculture to fragrance, first established a Boston office in 2009 when it opened a small lab at 7 Tide St. in the marine park. Last fall, it looked to West Cambridge’s Quad section for its most recent expansion, leasing nearly 39,000 square feet at 10 Wilson Road in The Davis Cos.’ Quad campus.

Marcus Partners said the project, planned for marine park parcels O at 1 Au Bon Pain Way and P at 3 Anchor Way, is consistent with a proposed master plan that allows mixed commercial-industrial developments in the marine park, currently under review by the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

Demand for lab space is prompting a series of acquisitions and developments in the Seaport District’s eastern industrial portion, including life science developer Alexandria Real Estate’s 2020 purchase of a 6-acre site on E Street and The Davis Cos.’ proposed 330,600-square-foot expansion of the 88 Black Falcon property. In December, the BPDA board approved Millennium Partners’ 381,000-square-foot South Boston Innovation Campus at 2 Harbor St.

Marcus Partners estimates the project would begin in late 2021 with demolition of the Au Bon Pain building and will be completed in 2024. The developer has agreed to contribute to a new climate resiliency fund applying to properties in the marine park, with proceeds expected to pay for a new sea wall protecting the peninsula.

Construction manager John Moriarty & Assoc. plans to joint venture with a minority- or women-owned business on the project, Marcus Partners said.

Colliers’ John Carroll, Evan Gallagher and Curtis Cole represented Marcus Partners in the lease transaction, while Columbia Group Realty Advisors represented Ginkgo Bioworks.