MIAMI—As shared workspace gains momentum, University of MiamiLife Science & Technology Park (UMLSTP) is serving up a uniqueconcept in the R&D world: shared lab and office space.Wexford Science & Technology is aiming tofoster collaboration and innovation among early-stage researchfirms.

UMLSTP has executed a lease agreement with Right SpaceManagement to operate and manage The Miami InnovationCenter, the first shared space of its kind in the Southeast U.S.and only the fourth nationwide. Boston, San Francisco, and St.Louis are home to similar facilities. Scheduled to open in July2012, the complex will include 40,000 square feet of shared officeand lab space on the first and third floors of the UMLSTP’s firstbuilding.

“There is a cluster effect materializing at the University ofMiami Life Science & Technology Park and across the MiamiHealth District, fueled by innovators from the private sector andnearby research institutes,” Bill Hunter, leasingmanager for the UMLSTP, tells GlobeSt.com. “The Miami InnovationCenter bolsters that dynamic, affording South Florida’s growingnumber of technology and life science companies anaffordable, accessible home base where they can jumpstart theirwork and collaborate with other teams.”