I don't completely understand this quote -- is money to the university grant money? Like, for a tenure-track professor? Paying with federal grants? Rent is not usually the motivator in that instance...

Or is it simply due to paying rent costs?

Lab-space-for-hire is not a new concept, if anyone was wondering, though it often exists only in life science hub areas (e.g., LabCentral: http://labcentral.org/).