Building on a long-standing commitment to supporting projects in Providence’s Jewelry District that contribute to the economic vitality of the city and state, Brown University has signed a letter of intent to lease laboratory space in a major public-private life sciences development project.
The 212,000-square-foot, seven-story building moving forward on former I-195 land will house a new public health lab for the State of Rhode Island, and laboratory space for academic and commercial life sciences entities. Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee announced on Tuesday, Oct. 4, that Ancora L&G has been selected as the developer following a competitive RFP process.
The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) State Health Laboratories will serve as an anchor tenant, with 80,000 square feet of space to accommodate biological and chemical testing for a variety of infectious disease, environmental and forensic testing services. To help attract additional tenants and encourage a thriving mix of public and private entities focused on health and medicine, Brown signed a letter of intent with Ancora to lease 20,000 square feet of laboratory space in the building for a period of 10 years.
Ancora L&G CEO Josh Parker noted that Brown’s plans to lease space in the Jewelry District building were an important factor in Ancora’s commitment to the project.
“Brown University’s letter of intent to lease space is a powerful statement of support for the project and for Rhode Island’s growing bioscience footprint,” Parker said. “Brown’s interest has been a key element of Ancora’s commitment to the RIDOH and commercial lab development in Providence. We are excited to collaborate with the University to further define its presence at the RIDOH State Health Laboratories building, foster its commercialization goals, and provide a dynamic environment for emerging and mature life sciences firms alike.”
The University has a substantial amount of academic activity relevant to the mission of RIDOH located near the new development, which will be located near the intersection of Clifford and Richmond streets, including education and research at the Warren Alpert Medical School, Laboratories for Molecular Medicine and School of Public Health. This summer, Brown began work toward creating an integrated life sciences building in the district, and simultaneously developed an expansive plan to significantly increase the impact of its research benefiting communities locally, nationally and globally.
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