A new space for budding entrepreneurs aims to keep innovative ideas in Chapel Hill.
This spring, the building at 505 W. Franklin St. will become the site of a new innovation lab meant to provide free space and resources for prospective business owners.
The center was made necessary after the cancellation of the Innovation Center planned for Carolina North, a 250-acre mixed-use satellite campus off of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., said David Knowles, director of economic development and regional engagement for the Renaissance Computing Institute.
Temporarily named the 505 Incubator, the program is meant to attract students, faculty and staff who might benefit from the space and potentially commercialize their ideas, Knowles said.
He said the lab — which will cost $550,000 and take several months to complete — will be available to diverse groups, including student start-ups and more developed businesses.
The money was allocated by UNC’s budget committee after Vice Chancellor for Research Barbara Entwisle endorsed a proposal for the project.
The first floor of the two-story building will be designated as wet lab space to accommodate start-ups in life sciences. The second floor will likely support software and technology companies.
“There is an open floor plan, but I envision several different work areas where people can collaborate,” Knowles said.
Cam Patterson, executive director of Carolina Kickstart, an entrepreneurship-focused program of the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute, said he has high hopes for the innovation center.
