University City to be haven for innovators

As part of a statewide campaign to attract scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs to Pennsylvania - and to keep graduates from moving out of the area - Penn and Drexel University have joined with the University City Science Center and other sponsors to create a Keystone Innovation Zone in University City.

Proposals for 10 KIZs have been approved since Gov. Ed Rendell signed Senate Bill No. 778, known as Act 12, in February 2004. The act allows for the construction of these "knowledge neighborhoods" with funds from tobacco settlements.

With construction set to begin next year, the University City KIZ will span 194 acres along Market Street east of 38th Street. It will encompass the Schuylkill River waterfront, several Penn and Drexel labs and the University City Science Center at 34th and Market streets. The area is considered a model for universities creating their own complexes for scientific and technological research.

KIZs "are accelerating commercialization and really enrich how we unlock the potential of university research ... to make our commercialization efforts more effective and innovative," said Keri Mattox, director of economic partnerships in the Office of Strategic Initiatives at Penn.

Penn and its partners in the University City KIZ had their application approved by the state last September, leading to the official launch of the zone in January.

The focus of the University City KIZ will be on life sciences technology - like pharmaceuticals and nanomedicine - and workforce development.

Plans for the zone are "moving forward very well," Mattox said. Participants are busy preparing for the Biotechnology Industry Organization's 2005 conference, to be held in Philadelphia this summer.

To encourage organizations to base themselves in the zones, the state offers tax breaks to companies located there. Universities forming KIZs are also eligible to receive grant money from the state. The zones may be established in communities around institutions of higher education.

"This is an exciting and innovative approach by the state, and the UCKIZ is working to attract as many young companies as possible to the area to capture these benefits and drive economic growth," Mattox said.

In the meantime, Penn, Drexel and the zone's other sponsors are "working together to link regional resources, leverage existing assets and implement new programs that ... drive commercialization in our region," Mattox said.

Another Philadelphia KIZ - led by Penn State University's Applied Research Laboratory - was approved in April. The zone will be located at the former naval shipbuilding yard on the Delaware River. The developers of that KIZ also intend it to focus on engineering and life sciences.

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