17 Briden St. Photo courtesy of the city of Worcester.
A Worcester medical device manufacturing plant will soon become home to an expansion of the city’s biotech incubator thanks in part to a large grant from the state.
Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (MBI) is currently home to more than 30 life sciences companies, having “graduated” another 95 companies, which employ approximately 825 people in the local life sciences cluster in Central Massachusetts. With a $3.49 million grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center economic development agency, MBI will redevelop 17 Briden St., near its current location north of downtown in Worcester’s Gateway Park, by establishing additional incubator space including a “Stage II” incubator.
MBI will operate more than 20,000 square feet of a renovated facility to expand its business incubation operations, including 19 additional suites and supporting office space. Additionally, the inclusion of the expanded incubator will provide MBI the ability to create five to seven suites of around 1,000 to 3,000 square feet for growing companies. This space will serve as a bridge for those companies to grow and sustain their business models and prevent the financial and logistical stress that can cause companies to struggle and fail, by leaving the incubator environment before they are ready.
“We are so proud of the success of our MBI companies,” MBI President and CEO Jon Weaver said in a statement. “It’s truly amazing to witness the caliber of life and health science companies that are choosing to make their start in Central Massachusetts. Our partnership with the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center will provide additional opportunities for these startups to seed, scale, and succeed, and accommodate the high demand for laboratory space.”
A LoopNet real estate listing stated medical device maker Cogmedix, the current occupant of 17 Briden St., will be moving. The building, built in 1920 and renovated in 2015, contains 53,368 rentable square feet over three floors and a mezzanine, the listing said. Terms of any potential lease or sale arrangements between MBI and the property’s owner, Cogmedix parent company Coughlin Cos. Inc., were not disclosed in the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center’s announcement.
The grant announced Monday was part of a larger $30.95 million package of grants to life sciences organizations across the state to support advances in health care, accelerate innovation in clinical and translational research and expand the capacity of life sciences development and job growth across the state.
