LIFE SCIENCES HUB-RIGHT HERE: How Salt Lake City is Building a World-Class Healthcare Innovation Center.

• Author: Wittenberg, Andrew

There is no greater gift than good health, and in Salt Lake City some of the world's most innovative healthcare companies are creating products to help people everywhere live better and longer.

And now, in the time of the COVID-19 crisis, we have seen just how important healthcare innovation is for public health and how it will be a key component to economic recovery in the months and years ahead. Salt Lake City's diverse and engaged community is what sets it apart from many places, and will be a key factor that propels us into a solid financial future.

What has been years in the making for the city, Mayor Erin Mendenhall is now leading efforts to build upon the 'Life Sciences Corridor' laying groundwork for a new 'Healthcare Innovation Center' under the 'Tech Lake City' initiative. She says:

"By designating an intentional space, we are achieving Salt Lake City's vision of supporting a local industry that helps grow our economy, creates excellent opportunities for our workforce, and cultivates the creative energy and advancements necessary to produce modern medical solutions for an evolving landscape of needs."

The hub is a new phase, building upon the corridor first developed in 2018--a planned city effort to build more incubator, office, and wet lab space where startups can grow and scale with ease.

Healthcare innovation encompasses life sciences and digital health sectors of our state economy, including medical devices, biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, genomics, health tech, digital informatics, and all other services related to, or supporting these industries.

It is no secret that these companies choose Salt Lake City for our favorable business climate, quality of life, and phenomenal tech ecosystem. But what makes the corridor and innovation center plan more intriguing for investors and startups? Available real estate and a specialized concentration in at least three subsectors--medical device, pharmaceutical, and research laboratory sectors.

Opportunity zones were strategically selected with the manufacturing supply chain in mind--from early-stage at the University of Utah and Research Park development to innovation happening in Class A and co-working office space downtown, to late-stage manufacturing west toward Salt Lake International Airport for seamless distribution. Each area allows for the capital stacking of many available financial tools. You could call it 'doubling incentives'--where opportunity zones overlap...