Ben Franklin TechVentures

Ben Franklin TechVentures is a high-tech workspace and community for early-stage companies. Located on the campus of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, the 62,000-square-foot facility addresses the growing appetite for incubator space and affordable wet laboratory facilities in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The facility is uniquely situated to meet the needs of emerging technology-oriented businesses, including the life sciences. Ben Franklin TechVentures brings new life to an historic facility that was once the seat of research and innovation for Bethlehem Steel, one of the most famous industrial companies of the 20th century. The building was key to the development of the steel company’s highest-value coated products, which were coveted by automakers, metal building manufacturers, appliance makers, and other businesses around the world. BFTP/NEP reclaimed and renovated this original site of Bethlehem Steel innovation, transforming it into an expanded incubator and post-incubator facility for technology companies.

The Need for Ben Franklin TechVentures

The original Ben Franklin Business Incubator, located in a smaller facility across the street from Ben Franklin TechVentures, was at capacity for most of its quarter-century in operation. Both BFTP/NEP and its regional economic development colleagues had been forced to turn away promising companies due to a lack of incubator and wet lab space in the region. Compared to the original building, Ben Franklin TechVentures doubles the available wet lab space and more than triples the office and dry laboratory space available. By renovating this bastion of innovation, BFTP/NEP continues its long-standing track record of fueling Pennsylvania’s technology economy by investing in infrastructure.

Plans for Expansion: Ben Franklin TechVentures2

Ben Franklin TechVentures2 will be a 47,000 square-foot, four-story building addition to the recently renovated TechVentures incubator/post-incubator facility. With planned completion in 2011, the expansion will help address growing needs for incubator and wet lab space, to the benefit of the region’s technology economy. The creation of an additional 200 jobs and the retention of 100 jobs in the technology sector are projected as this space becomes available in the Ben Franklin TechVentures2 facility. Ben Franklin TechVentures2 will be a certified Leadership Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building.

The total construction cost of the project will exceed $12,000,000, and is being funded in part by a U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) grant of $6,000,000. (Visit http://www.recovery.gov)

I hereby certify for the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania that the described ARRA infrastructure investment has received the full review and vetting required by law. As the authorized representative of the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, I acknowledge that the infrastructure investment for Ben Franklin TechVentures2 is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars.

Kathy Ann B. Minnich, Chief Financial Officer
Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania