The company's facility includes a high-bay laboratory area for inspecting and testing a wide variety of consumer products as well as providing computational resources for structural analysis and animations. Dr. Steven Kurtz, the director and principal engineer of Exponent's Philadelphia facility, says, "the Science Center location affords Exponent the opportunity to interact more closely with both academicians and industry professionals."
Meanwhile, two current tenants at the Science Center renew leases for a total of 4,000 sf. They are NovaFlora, a biotech firm focused on the genetic improvement and commercialization of ornamental plants, and Near Infrared Monitoring, which serves the healthcare industry. NovaFlora has office and lab space at 3401 Market Street, and Near Infrared's space is in 3508 Market Street.
Terms of the leases are undisclosed because, according to a Science Center spokesman, who tells GlobeSt.com, "terms cannot be measured by traditional real estate rates." They sometimes include the use of shared lab space and lease agreements can also be linked to equity in the tenant-company. Rates also vary widely, depending on the complexity of fit-outs for the space and what proportion of a fit-out is funded by either the center or the tenant.
The Science Center was created 40 years ago to foster scientific research and create additional science-based jobs in Philadelphia. Since its inception, it has launched more than 350 companies and created more than 26,000 jobs.
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