Pennsylvania officials recently approved areas of University City for the establishment of a Keystone Innovation Zone -- an area aimed at integrating technological development and business in a manner similar to the evolution of Silicon Valley in California.
Penn, Drexel, BioAdvance and the Center for Science Education at the University of California, Berkeley* are partners in the effort to bind research and development work with commercial and job growth. The organizations collectively applied for KIZ status, which was granted Thursday by the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority.
Startup companies in the KIZ -- which is bordered by the Schuylkill River to the east, Market Street to the north and University Avenue to the south -- will have priority for any resource requests and will receive tax credits that can be exchanged with other corporations for cash for the first eight years.
The initiative is part of an attempt to erase Pennsylvania's reputation as an exporter of innovation and to keep products and ideas inside the state.
"There is a national trend to take a look at the benefits economically that universities have," said Tom Palisin, the KIZ program manager for the state's Department of Community and Economic Development.
"Universities and colleges haven't historically done well in transferring that research ... into commercialization," he added.
Pennsylvania's failure to retain researchers and developers has resulted in little employment and economic improvement in some industry sectors. University City was given KIZ status on the basis of the life sciences, information technology and nanotechnology innovations it offered.
"The whole idea behind this is an economic stimulus package," said Leslie Hudson, Penn's vice provost for strategic initiatives. "Philadelphia and Pennsylvania in general [have] tremendous research potential. This could unlock that potential."
The University City KIZ includes several Penn-owned properties such as the former Hajoca Building on 3025 Walnut St., which is the new home of the WXPN radio station, and the Translational Research Laboratory, slated to open on Nov. 17 at 133 S. 31st St.
"It's trying to get private industries linked to university campuses to the mutual benefit of both," said Tony Sorrentino, Facilities and Real Estate Services spokesman.
The focus is on startup companies, as "you never know where the new Google is going to come from, or the next Microsoft," he said.
State and University officials said they hope the benefits will attract businesses and researchers to college campuses, enabling greater development between the technological and commercial sides.
"Top commerce needs technology which is patent protected, a place for a company to grow," Hudson said. "In the case of money, [technology] needs capital investment -- it needs a source of entrepreneurs. The partnership is not a coincidence. There are complementary resources and skill bases that will drive creations of wealth."
Correction: Instead of Berkeley, the fourth partner is the University City Science Center.
