Massachusetts Life-Science Initiative Funds New Innovation Center

Gov. Deval Patrick and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) have awarded a $9.7 million capital grant for construction of a new Berkshire Innovation Center in Pittsfield, Mass.

“Our life-sciences strategy is about choosing to shape our future—investing today to leave a better commonwealth for the next generation,” Patrick said. “This investment supports the kind of innovation that propels our economy forward, and demonstrates that we are making investments in life-sciences growth across the entire commonwealth.”

The Berkshire Innovation Center will catalyze, enable and accelerate innovation and growth of existing companies in western Massachusetts—primarily small to medium-sized manufacturing companies (SMEs) in life sciences and the life-sciences supply chain—with the ultimate objective of spurring economic growth, jobs, and investment in the region. The facility will enable shared research, early-stage production and commercialization, and workforce training.

“A key strategy of the Life Sciences Center is to use our capital dollars to accelerate life sciences-driven economic development across the commonwealth by engaging and building on regional strengths,” said Susan Windham-Bannister, Ph.D., president and CEO of the MLSC. “Our investment in the construction of the Berkshire Innovation center, which focuses on the advanced manufacturing strengths of the region, is a great example of our strategy. The center is committed to including all zip codes in the Life Sciences Initiative and we have made capital investments totaling more than $400 million, literally from Cape Cod to Cape Ann and now, the Berkshires.”

In June 2013, the city of Pittsfield received a $55,000 planning grant from the MLSC to conduct a study and create a business plan for the Berkshire Innovation Center. The capital grant approval of $9.7 million (inclusive of the prior planning grant) will allow the project to move forward. The city of Pittsfield will be working with New England Expansion Strategies and the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority (PEDA) to develop and build the Berkshire Innovation Center.

“In Pittsfield we have a legacy of manufacturing and innovation. The Berkshire Innovation Center will allow us to write the next chapter in that legacy. I believe this initiative will be a significant game changer for Pittsfield and Berkshire County,” said Pittsfield Mayor Daniel Bianchi. “The center will allow for growth of existing Pittsfield small businesses in the applied material sector of life sciences. The Berkshire Innovation Center will serve not only as a complement to the programing at Berkshire Community College and the MCLA, but will also serve as a visionary complement to the career and vocational technical high school that we are currently envisioning at the Taconic Campus. The creation of the center will be an engine for growth that will redefine our region and enrich generations of young people to realize 21st-century careers right here in Pittsfield.”

Rod Jané, president of New England Strategies, predicted the Berkshire Innovation Center would become a successful economic catalyst for the region while Gail Cariddi, state representative, First Berkshire District, said the investment would strengthen the area’s “regional collaboration efforts” in science and technology.

“By partnering with our existing companies, this space will create the environment and room for their new innovative projects to flourish and grow,” said state Sen. Benjamin B. Downing (D-Pittsfield), who secured the capital spending authorization to support this project in the 2008 Life Sciences Bond Bill.

Through the MLSC, Massachusetts is investing $1 billion over 10 years in the growth of the state’s life-science super-cluster. These investments are being made under the Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative, proposed by Patrick in 2007, and passed by the state legislature and signed into law in 2008. During the last six years, the MLSC has awarded or committed more than $520 million, including nearly $400 million to support capital projects, creating more than 1.3 million square feet of new educational, research, and manufacturing space all across the commonwealth, and creating thousands of jobs.

“This is another example of how collaboration between local and state officials really pays off,” state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier (D-Pittsfield) said. “The PEDA board brought in all the stakeholders, including those from academia and entrepreneurs to put together a plan that will jump start a long-dormant 52 acre site in the heart of Pittsfield.”

The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center is an investment agency that supports life-science innovation, research, development and commercialization. The MLSC is charged with implementing a 10-year, $1 billion, state-funded investment initiative. These investments create jobs and support advances that improve health and well-being.