BioPark program gets $2.2M in state, city funding

• Connect Labs receives $2.2 million in state and city funding.
• Connect Labs will lease lab space to small tech firms.
• Connect Labs expects to create 100 jobs by 2028.

Plans to open a new tech innovation lab at the University of Maryland BioPark in West Baltimore are getting a boost from some public funds.

The $2.2 million funding package from the state and the city will help fuel the creation of Connect Labs, a combination of pre-built lab space, support services and office space that will be located in the upcoming 4MLK tower on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Baltimore's spending board recently approved a $200,000 loan for the project and the state is providing a $2 million "conditional loan" through its Advantage Maryland program. The city loan is forgivable if certain benchmarks are met in the coming years, said Colin Tarbert, president of the Baltimore Development Corp., or BDC.

"We’re building a more dynamic and inclusive life sciences ecosystem that supports entrepreneurs and attracts national attention to Baltimore," Tarbert said in a statement.

Read the full story from the Baltimore Business Journal.