Biotech Incubator
Providing Virginia entrepreneurs access to mentorship, resources, peers and funding.
The downtown Richmond site located at 8th and Leigh Streets is in the heart of the VA Bio+Tech Park innovation district with convenient access to peer resource facilities like the 1717 Innovation Center, Hatch Kitchen and VCU. Enter Activation Capital’s vision for a new 100,000 square-foot facility for Virginia’s emerging connected technology, biological and health science companies.
Home Base for VA Entrepreneurs
Market: Corporate
Location: Richmond
Size: 99,511 SF
Year Completed: Unbuilt
APPROACH
The proposed 8L project included an office, hub and lab building, courtyard and parking for 500 vehicles. The dynamic building and site is meant to be a community hub offering work space, resources, programs and events for emerging businesses. Building amenities include a robust meeting facility for up to 300 people, maker lab, on-site mentors, café and bar, rooftop patio and outdoor courtyard. The project was part of a master-plan for an Innovation District that will include all of the current bio-tech buildings.
It also includes Innovation park and new right-of-way design for Jackson Street, which will create better pedestrian infrastructure, bike lanes, reduced auto lanes, new lighting, wayfinding and green space. The ground floor of each building will be opened to the street for potential retail or public facing work space. This will pull people to the street corridor and re-orient the energy to Jackson street and pull the focus away from a car/garage centric model.
