The Knowledge Community Insider
Featuring Monthly News from Wexford and our Knowledge Communities

Innovation Quarter recognized as a best practice by Global Institute on Innovation Districts
Innovation Quarter  |  December 16, 2020

Winston-Salem, N.C. innovation district recognized as a “Best Practice for Creating Integrated Places” for intentionality around developed mixed-use space
Innovation Quarter today announced special recognition by the Global Institute on Innovation Districts (GIID) as a “Best Practice for Creating Integrated Places.” The recognition comes as GIID has spent the better part of 2020 examining nine innovation districts around the world in an effort to better understand this emerging model as an avenue for driving new waves of innovative, sustainable, and inclusive growth.

“Innovation Quarter has shown the world that integrated places is not just a concept for one landmark building; it is the ambition to create mixed places for the majority of institution-led projects. In doing so, they have advanced the practice by leaps and bounds,” said Julie Wagner, president of the Global Institute on Innovation Districts. “The work of Innovation Quarter to create authentic, integrated places shows research universities and medical institutions around the world what it means to ‘lean in’ and create spaces where a diversity of people are welcome and can actively use.”

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How Philly’s Bioscience Sector is Driving the City’s Next Big Real Estate Boom

Philadelphia Magazine | December 8, 2020
John Grady, SVP and Northeast region executive for Wexford, believes the uCity project will attract and grow a broad and diverse talent pool, making it a catalyst for further job growth in the sector. And while the pandemic led to historic unemployment, many of the hub’s existing tenants continued to work in lab spaces when COVID-19 hit, researching health-care solutions, therapies and vaccines.
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Construction begins for Duke University’s new quantum computing center

WRAL TechWire | November 18, 2020
Construction is currently underway on a 10,000-square foot expansion of Duke’s existing quantum computing center in the Chesterfield Building, a former cigarette factory in downtown Durham.
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ASU’s “enterprise” model to drive Arizona’s new economy

Chamber Business News | November 17, 2020
From open spaces to open minds, Arizona has the “highest potential” of any state in the nation to successfully move into the new economy, said Arizona State University (ASU) president and innovation trailblazer Michael Crow. The university’s “enterprise” model will help lead the way.
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Durham gene therapy startup raises $55M to fund trials for blindness treatment

The News & Observer | December 16, 2020
A promising gene therapy startup that treats a disease that causes blindness has raised $55 million from investors.
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Simulation and Distributed Wargaming Experiment

Innovation Hub | December 18, 2020
NATO Innovation Hub successfully tested its first simulation-based wargame on Monday 14 Dec at its facility on the Old Dominion University (ODU) campus in Norfolk, Virginia, USA.

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Don’t count out office buildings yet. Philly developers push ahead with new pandemic resistant designs

The Philadelphia Inquirer | November 17, 2020
Now that the pandemic has emptied so many Center City offices and university campuses, these innovation districts are becoming oases of activity that can help the city weather this difficult time. It’s more important than ever that their architecture reflects that important role.
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These 8 Heartland Cities Are Essential to the Future of American Innovation

Explica.co | December 31, 2020
1. St. Louis:  The gateway to the west has spent the last decade building innovation infrastructure, including three gems in Cortex Innovation Community, BIOSTL in Midtown and the coming National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on the city’s northside.
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Innovation Quarter unveils Depot Street Renaissance mural

Innovation Quarter | December 1, 2020
Innovation Quarter today unveiled a new street mural, commissioned through its iQ Community Labs and created by local artist Leo Rucker. The mural, which was underwritten by anchor tenant Inmar Intelligence, highlights the history and organizations near Depot Street (now Patterson Avenue) in this section of downtown Winston-Salem.
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