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The Navy Yard is a significant regional center for corporate research and development facilities, and demand for such space is growing.

The U.S. Navy

The federal research lab occupied by the Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station (NAVSSES), with over 1,800 employees, a $500 million annual budget and $1 billion in facility investment, is a significant driver of research and development activity within The Navy Yard. NAVSSES specifically focuses on engineering, R&D and life-cycle maintenance solutions in the areas of power, energy, propulsion, and other ship-board systems for the U.S. Navy. 

This advanced research and development attracts private, governmental and academic research partners from all over the country and has an enormous potential to catalyze the commercialization of new technologies.  Many of the tenants drawn here are defense contractors—including General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, McKean Defense Group, LLC. and Life Cycle Engineering, Inc. — who are drawn to the site to work alongside the U.S. Navy in cutting-edge R&D areas such as fuel cells, power generation, information technology, and logistics.

Keystone Innovation Zone

To build on this strong research foundation, in 2005 The Navy Yard was designated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ), which are university-private-public partnerships designed to leverage public and private-sector incentives to promote job creation.  Since its inception, The Navy Yard KIZ has helped more than 100 entrepreneurs, attracted seven start-up technology companies, and advanced major Penn State University research programs and commercialization initiatives.

The KIZ also worked with The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania to convert an historic structure to the Building 100 Innovation Center, a 30,000 square-foot regional hub for research and development and commercialization of physical and engineering science.

This activity has attracted companies like AppTec Laboratory Services (a contract laboratory testing and pharmaceutical manufacturing company) which built a 75,000 square foot building for state-of-the-art laboratory and research development,  Freedom Sciences (a robotics R&D company), and Iroko Pharmaceuticals (a pharmaceutical reformation and marketing firm). And these are just some of the growing number of research and technology companies that have been attracted to The Navy Yard and the KIZ.

Contact us to find out how The Navy Yard can fulfill your needs for research and development space.