Corporate News 2005

New Technology Park Lures Firms

Business incubator in Detroit is ahead of schedule as it rents two of its five floors

March 27, 2005

By Tom Henderson / Special to The Detroit News

DETROIT TechTown, the new research and technology park aimed at jump-starting the state's life sciences and other economic development initiatives, has quickly attracted several tenants, putting the project ahead of schedule.

A cornerstone of a new research and technology corridor in a long-neglected swath of the city between New Center and Wayne State University, TechTown has already filled two of five floors in one of three planned buildings.

The 100,000-square-foot center, which opened in July in a former Oakland Motors factory after a $12 million renovation, has lured nine tenants, including three announced in March. The tenants are engaged in a variety of activities, from the distribution of human cell tissue, software development, nanotechnology consulting and pharmaceutical research. Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based Neurorecovery Inc., which is working to enhance the delivery of drugs and other treatments for patients suffering from neurological injuries and diseases, is opening a research coordination center in TechTown.

It was attracted to the city by Wayne State University's medical research. In conjunction with Wayne State and Johns Hopkins University, Neurorecovery has begun early human trials for a new ventricular catheter designed to monitor and relieve intracranial pressure in patients suffering from neurological injury. It is also developing treatments for chronic Guillain-Barre syndrome, Charcot-Marie tooth disease and the amelioration of symptoms for dystonia and pain. Wayne State, General Motors Corp. and Henry Ford Health System are the center's strategic partners.

"The original plan was to do the first and fifth floors first, then to do other floors a year at a time. But we're already working on the fourth floor and are about a year ahead of schedule," said executive director Howard Bell. "We'll probably be done with this building in 2007." When the current building, called TechOne, is filled, renovation will proceed on two other nearby buildings, to be called TechTwo and TechThree.

Asterand, a biotech firm, has become the anchor tenant, with 60 employees occupying 13,000 square feet.

TechTown invested $900,000 in lab and office equipment to attract Asterand. "We'll get a return on our investment. Not just in rent, but in jobs created," said Bell, pointing out that when talks began with Asterand CEO Randal Charlton two and a half years ago, the company was projecting its needs at 5,000 square feet for 20 employees. "What we're building is the world's largest biological bank for genetic research, for everything from cancer to cardiovascular to arthritis to diabetes," said Charlton, a native of England who located the company in Michigan five years ago because of the state's life-sciences initiative. Asterand collects tissue from donated bodies, catalogs it by gender, race, age and disease. Researchers from pharmaceuticals or universities around the world can go online and order the frozen tissue they need.Asterand moved into TechTown in August from cramped space it was leasing from Wayne State. Since then, the company has expanded into four new labs. Bell said 40 percent of TechTown's space will be reserved for incubator companies in need of support services. But if they aren't ready to survive on their own in 36 months, "they'll have to move on," Bell said.

"The incubator model has changed," Bell said. "If we don't see a projected return on investment, we don't rent. We want a return on our capital, too."

The old Michigan Center for High Technology, a now-defunct state-funded incubator in the old Kresge building near the Masonic Temple, was criticized a decade ago for nurturing poor-performing companies for too long. Some existed for years without ever producing products that created revenues or many jobs. Bell said projections for TechTown are to create 60 new companies and 6,000 jobs in the first decade.

The center also offers enrichment programs for area high school students. National Honor Society students from several schools come in for programs on Tuesday and Thursday nights, sponsored by the National Society of Black Engineers at Wayne State. It also offers co-op positions to promising students. Ryan Leaverson, 15, a sophomore at the nearby University Preparatory High School and an aspiring architect, has been helping with renovation work on the fourth floor. "I enjoy taking measurements," he said. In January, one of TechTown's first incubator tenants, DaVinci Pharmaceuticals, had an early success, merging with a Swiss firm to form Neocutis, a biotech specializing in cellular technology. "TechTown helped me formalize my vision into a business plan," said DaVinci's founder, Mark Lemko, now a Neocutis vice president. "It provided an environment where I could network with other people who were of a similar mind."

Tom Henderson is a Metro Detroit freelance writer

Registered and Head Office:
2 Orchard Road
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