A new innovation hub is coming to the D.C. area.
Prince William County is moving forward with its Northern Virginia Science Center, a future wet lab facility at Innovation Park in Manassas.
The project at 9370 Discovery Blvd., designed as a base for early-stage life sciences and biotech companies, will serve as a regional asset “because we really don’t have that type of product here in Northern Virginia,” said Christina Winn, executive director for the Prince William County Department of Economic Development.
Her office is working to line up tenants for the facility, which will aim to build off of George Mason University’s Science and Technology Campus outside Manassas, including the life science accelerator located there. The county is now working with accelerator companies to sign letters of intent to move to the wet lab when it’s complete, and seeking new startups to fill their spots in the accelerator.
The region has a biotech center already, in Montgomery County — where there’s a shortage of lab space, significant demand and record-low vacancy rates in recent years. So Prince William has an opportunity, Winn said, to elevate its profile and reposition itself as a draw for companies in Greater Washington and outside of it.
Indiana real estate company Holladay Property Services Midwest Inc. plans to buy a 4.4-acre site from the county and develop it into the 30,000-square-foot lab and office space. And it has tapped Rockville commercial real estate group Scheer Partners to lead a marketing campaign for the project, which is on track to open in November 2021, said Thomas Flynn, business development and investment director for Prince William economic development.
“We really view this as priming the pump and putting us on the map,” Flynn said, “so other developers of wet lab space will see the market here and follow suit.”
Editor’s Note: This story first appeared in the Washington Business Journal. It appears here in an abbreviated format. See the original post here.
