The original Ben Franklin Business Incubator, located on Lehigh University’s campus in Bethlehem, had been at capacity for most of its quarter-century of operation. Ben Franklin and its economic development colleagues had to turn away promising young companies due to a lack of incubator space, and the lack of availability of wet lab space was a problem for emerging companies in many technology sectors.

 

In 2005, Lehigh donated the Ben Franklin TechVentures® building, across the street from the original incubator, to Ben Franklin to expand its business incubator, and Ben Franklin completely renovated this former Bethlehem Steel lab to meet the needs of today’s high-tech companies. The Ben Franklin TechVentures incubator/post incubator facility doubled the available wet lab space and more than tripled the office and dry lab space available in the original Ben Franklin Business Incubator.

 

In September of 2007, Ben Franklin opened Ben Franklin TechVentures. Staff projected that the 35,000 square feet of rentable space would meet the region’s requirements for about five years. Just eighteen months after the grand opening, TechVentures was filled to near capacity. This is indicative of the tremendous demand for incubator and wet lab space in the Lehigh Valley.

 

In September 2009, Ben Franklin TechVentures received a $6 million grant to expand Ben Franklin TechVentures’ facilities, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). The new expansion was dedicated on October 20, 2011.