The East End Maker Hub, which is expected to be the state's largest makerspace once fully completed, has finished initial construction on the facility's first phase and opened its doors to tenants.
Of the 25 tenant companies that have signed leases in the makerspace, 13 have started to move in and build out their individual spaces, said Mike Pittman, vice president of real estate for Urban Partnerships Community Development Corp., one of the organizations developing the East End Maker Hub. Pittman handles leasing for the roughly 300,000-square-foot facility.
For some tenants, moving into the East End Maker Hub requires a lot more than setting up desks, chairs and computers. The facility was designed for companies operating in equipment and metal manufacturing, 3D printing, heavy fabrication, hardware innovation, medical device manufacturing, and other manufacturing and industrial sectors. Many of the suites feature expensive heavy machinery and other equipment needed for manufacturing.
"We're finding different types of users have different types of move-in needs. Some are more complex than others," said Pittman. "But overall, it's something that we know we can tackle, and we feel really confident with our users coming inside and handling that process."
The makerspace's first phase includes "white box" suites ranging from 420 square feet to 20,000 square feet. The East End Maker Hub is anchored by Houston-based nonprofit makerspace TXRX Labs, which is occupying a roughly 65,000-square-foot space in the heart of the renovated warehouse. In addition to space for manufacturing machinery, the TXRX space features a number of classrooms where the nonprofit will offer free training courses for the employees of Maker Hub tenant companies.
Other Maker Hub tenants include Houston-based Volumetric, which signed a lease for over 11,000 square feet. The startup, spun out of Rice University, specializes in 3D bioprinting of replacement organs and tissue. Houston-based Alchemy Industrial, a 3D printing and additive manufacturing firm, signed a lease for more than 5,400 square feet. Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM), one of the largest public companies in Houston by revenue, inked a lease for over 3,500 square feet for its research and development team.
Much of the work on Phase II of the East End Maker Hub also has been completed, Pittman said. The project's second phase will add heavy fabrication suites for welders, CNC (computer numeric controlled) machinists, original equipment manufacturers and other users ranging from 900 square feet to 30,000 square feet. Phase II should deliver in the second quarter, Pittman said. The timeline for delivery on the Maker Hub's third phase, which will add light fabrication and crafting suites, has still yet to be determined.
The East End Maker Hub is planning for a grand opening celebration to take place during the summer, Pittman said. The makerspace facility is located at 6501 Navigation Blvd. in Houston's East End.
