What is “BioCrossroads” and the “16 Tech Innovation District”?
What is all this talk about the 16 Tech Innovation District and BioCrossroads? What does this all mean?
Well, there are a lot of buzz words floating around about both that I would like to try and summarize for you.
Let’s first start with our community, and wonderful city, of Indianapolis. Were you aware that Indianapolis is considered a major hub for life sciences? It’s true, and there are several statistics out there that support this, as compared to rival coastal hubs. Indiana has gained national recognition for leadership in this sector or work. Included in these accolades are outstanding visionaries who have made notable scientific contributions to our state of Indiana (and the world!) through their work. Some of those quick stats:
- $11.4B Life Science Exports – 2nd highest in the US
- $80B State Economic Impact
- 2,282 companies are working in the areas of drugs and pharmaceuticals, medical devices and equipment, agricultural chemicals, and feedstock, medical, research and testing laboratories, and biologistics. In 2020, Indiana companies committed to invest more than $700 million in new facilities and equipment.
These facts came directly from the BioCrossroads website. If I caught your attention regarding the BioCrossroads organization, here is a brief description: “BioCrossroads advances Indiana’s signature strengths in the life sciences by connecting with corporate, academic and philanthropic partners; facilitating investments in promising startups; building new enterprises; and educating through conferences, reports, and market development knowledge.”
Learn more here: https://biocrossroads.com/
Now on to one of the most notable and recent developments…16 Tech. A first of its’ kind for Indianapolis, the 16 Tech Innovation District is a hub for scientific research, technology innovations, and entrepreneurship. Located between Indiana Avenue and the White River (north of the IUPUI campus’ west side), it is bound by 16th street to the north and 10th street on the south. This location is notable as it is close in proximity to the economic, academic, medical, and research hubs of the city of Indianapolis and within the region. Examples include IUPUI, IU School of Medicine, Riley Hospital, Eskenazi Hospital, Roudebush VA Medical Center, IU Methodist Hospital, and of course, our ever-evolving, downtown Indianapolis. Not to mention, the proximity to many of our state and local universities.
The idea behind 16 Tech is to provide resources and opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs in the field of life sciences, technology, advanced manufacturing, and engineering. According to their website (https://www.16tech.com/), ‘16 Tech envisions a seamlessly integrated 24-hour live/work/play/learn community that will include flexible office, wet lab and makerspace, multi-family housing, onsite hotel, dining, and retail options as well as easy access to walking and biking trails, local waterways, and a multi-use path that provide ample opportunities to connect to downtown Indianapolis, neighboring communities or reconnect with nature. Together, these assets will help tenants recruit and retain the types of highly motivated scientists, researchers, engineers, designers, and professionals who are needed for success.’
How cool is that? What an awesome and amazing community we live in! 16 Tech will no doubt aid in upholding and strengthening Indianapolis’ already established reputation.
We at IDO are ecstatic about being just a stone’s throw away from the 16 Tech community, in addition to several of our most notable clients. We feel very blessed and fortunate to be where we are today and look forward to continuing with the work that we do, especially as it relates to the city and life sciences sector. If you are interested in hearing more about IDO services and/or how we might be able to assist your organization, please do not hesitate to reach out. We love our community and serve our clients in any way that we possibly can.
