Developer NexCore Group Partners with Cushman & Wakefield on Waterway Labs at 16 Tech in Indianapolis

Cushman & Wakefield leasing NexCore’s 100,000-SF purpose-built development to support growth of Indiana life sciences startups and companies 

INDIANAPOLIS, December 11, 2023 – NexCore Group has announced plans to develop Waterway Labs at 16 Tech in Indianapolis, with Cushman & Wakefield providing agency leasing services for the $60 million development, a purpose-built life sciences lab building offering graduation lab space for growing companies. 

Denver-based NexCore anticipates breaking ground in 2024 on the 100,000-square-foot life-sciences focused lab building at 1206 Waterway Blvd. within the 16 Tech Innovation District. 16 Tech is a 50-acre destination for entrepreneurship and innovation, located adjacent to the future campuses of Indiana University Indianapolis and Purdue University in Indanapolis. Opened in 2020, 16 Tech is intentionally resourced with the facilities and programs to support innovation-driven entrepreneurship and applied research opportuntities. The district boasts more than 200+ innovation related entitites, including a growing cluster of startups in life sciences, health tech and med tech industries as well as the resources to facilitate the prototyping and development of physical products in a variety of industries and at industrial scale. 16 Tech anchor tenants include the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, a leading translational research institute with capabilities in diabetes, Alzheimers and pediatric rare disease research, and the Emerging Manufacturing Collaboration Center with strengths in autonomous vehicle technology, Industry 4.0 implementation and additive manufacturing.  

Recognizing the robust infrastructure in Indiana, the U.S. Department of Commerce recently designated Indiana as a tech hub, with a winning application submitted by Heartland BioWorks, a consortium of state entities that includes 16 Tech, colleges and universities, industry groups and some of the state’s largest employers. In addition, 16 Tech was recently named a spoke of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Investor Catalyst Hub based in Boston, another indicator of the resources available to support commercialization of health innovation.  

“We’re fortunate to have an incredible foundation for Waterway Labs,” said Allan Glass, NexCore Executive Vice President, Life Sciences. “Indiana’s and Indianapolis’s world-renowned R-1 research institutions, health systems, base of life sciences and pharma companies and growing startup ecosystem, as well as forward-thinking economic development at the local and state level, all create the perfect atmosphere for a purpose-built life science development focused on startups graduating out of academic labs and incubation environments.”  

“Waterway Labs will take a leading position in providing ‘graduation’ space for growing companies emerging from our research universities as well as other startups and established firms,” said Jon Owens, Cushman & Wakefield Managing Director. “What’s more, Waterway Labs’ tenants will be a perfect complement to 16 Tech and the dynamic Life Science environment that’s developing in Central Indiana and across the state.” 

Owens and Cushman & Wakefield’s Joshua Graham will lead leasing for Waterway Labs. The five-story development will include two types of space as part of NexCore’s HATCHspaces operating platform: HATCHlabs and HATCHx.  

HATCHlabs will include four levels with 22,000-square-foot floorplates, featuring: warm shell lab enabled space, purpose-built for tenants needing to design their optimal suite layout with long-term leases; support for BSL-1 and BSL-2 level labs; 16-foot floor-to-floor/15-foot 6-inches clear height; 100 PSF live floor loading and 20 PSF dead load; floor vibration criteria of 6,000 mips; 20 watts/RSF of electrical capacity; 274-watt diesel emergency generator; 100% outside air with six-air changes per hour; break and lounge areas; common restrooms; and common chemical waste storage room.  

The HATCHx floor will offer eight turnkey lab suites of 2,000 square feet plus 10 offices in a co-working environment, where tenants can lease single lab suites and single office suites based on their space needs. Features include turn-key, fully furnished lab suites supporting BSL-1 and BSL-2 level labs; common freezer farm; and shared conference room. 

About NexCore Group LLC 
NexCore Group is a national healthcare real estate investment and development company that focuses on acquiring, developing, owning, and managing purpose-built facilities for healthcare, science and technology, and senior living. Since its founding in 2004, NexCore has successfully completed over $5.7 billion in real estate transactions throughout 29 states, developed and acquired over 16 million square feet of healthcare, science, and senior living communities, and currently manages over $3.3 billion in assets spanning 7.6 million square feet. NexCore is headquartered in Denver, with regional offices in Bethesda, Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Orlando, Phoenix, and Seattle.