$16M deal reached to open biotech and medical incubator in Providence’s 195 District
Aspirations to bring a dedicated life science incubator to Rhode Island became a legally binding reality under a trio of agreements approved by the Rhode Island Life Science Hub board on Wednesday.
The board’s unanimous vote, with one abstention, authorizes the sublease, operations and escrow agreements — which together comprise a contract — to build and operate a 30,000-square-foot incubator known as Ocean State Labs. The incubator is expected to open by the end of 2025 within the new, seven-story health and science building in Providence’s I-195 Redevelopment District.
The project is expected to cost $15.9 million, including construction, development and associated “soft costs,” according to a preliminary budget included in the 81-page contract obtained by Rhode Island Current.
The Hub, through its $45 million, three-year state budget, will cover $9 million of that cost, with another $1 million coming from the I-195 Redevelopment District Commission. Meanwhile, Brown University will cover the $5.9 million toward an improvements fund, equal to the rent payment for the space.
Brown had already signed on as an anchor tenant to the state health lab, promising a $13 million, 10-year investment in the building. It has now agreed to sublease the fourth floor to the Hub to use as an incubator for the next 10 years.
Washington D.C.-based developer Ancora L&G will construct and manage the space, which includes a signature wet lab reserved for testing drugs, chemicals and other biological material. Ancora was one of three firms responding to competitive solicitation issued in April Other bidders were a joint submission from the Wexford Science and Technology and the Cambridge Innovation Center, both part of the Point 225 commercial building in Providence, and from Sklip, Inc., said Lauren Greene, a spokesperson for the Hub, in an email.
Creating space for startup companies in the life science industry was a key reason why lawmakers and industry leaders wanted a dedicated Rhode Island life science agency.
“The development of the ‘Ocean State Labs’ is a pivotal moment for the growth of life science companies in Rhode Island,” Neil Steinberg, chair of the Rhode Island Life Science Hub board, said in a statement “The incubator will provide critical infrastructure that will bring ideas to reality, accelerate groundbreaking discoveries that can directly improve people’s lives and fulfill one of the primary objectives of the legislation that created the Hub.”
The Life Science Hub board will unveil more details about the incubator design in a presentation at the Rhode Island State House on Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 2 p.m.
Board member Christina Paxson, president of Brown University, abstained from the vote due to Brown’s involvement in the contract deal.
The seven-story PVD Labs building under construction in Providence will include a 30,000-square-foot wet and dry lab incubator under a contract approved by the Rhode Island Life Science Hub board on Wednesday. (Rendering courtesy of Ancora L&G)