CAMDEN, NJ-Work is under way on Tech One, a $16.5-million R&D building on this city's Delaware River waterfront. A project of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the five-story, 100,000-sf building is the first of several that will be developed within this city's Innovation Zone, a state-sponsored project.

The building is being financed through a combination of state, federal and private funds, including money from the state's $175 million set-aside for the Camden Economic Recovery Board, according to Caren S. Franzini, EDA's chief executive officer. Tech One has been designed "to accommodate existing businesses in the biosciences, microelectronics, advanced materials, information technology and other high-technology and life sciences fields," she says.

"Our aim is to attract businesses into Innovation Zones like the one in Camden, which offer the potential for partnerships with the state's public research universities and medical research facilities that will ultimately lead to business and job growth," Franzini says. NJ EDA officials say they're close to finalizing leases that could account for upwards of 80% of the new building's space. Initial tenants are expected to start moving in during the first quarter of next year.