Manufacturing and “hardtech” innovation center, mHUB, is investing $50 million in the acquisition and build-out of a historic manufacturing facility within Chicago’s Kinzie Industrial Corridor on the city’s Near West Side.
The building is located within a designated Opportunity Zone and planned manufacturing district on a 2-acre site that will increase mHUB’s prototyping and testing facilities and office and convening spaces to become the largest independent manufacturing innovation center in the country.
Launched in 2017, mHUB has supported over 500+ startups and 200 manufacturers from all over the world that have created 5,000+ jobs and generated over $2.6 billion of economic activity.
Collaboration between startups, industry, and investors has accelerated the commercialization of early-stage physical products in areas such as advanced and sustainable manufacturing, climate and energy tech, medical devices, and more.
The organization has strong ties to the Midwest regions’ universities and research institutions as well as an established network of contract manufacturers.
The $50 million building acquisition and renovation is part of public financing organized by mHUB to advance manufacturing and cleantech innovation in Illinois.
The package includes $17.55 million in TIF funding from the City of Chicago; a $15.52 million tax exempt bond issued by the Illinois Finance Authority, organized by Cabrera Investments, and purchased by Nuveen Investments; $9.4M in new market tax credits; $9.57 million from other local sources; and a $1.1 million contribution from mHUB.
On the heels of historic Illinois policy achievements with the Clean Equitable Jobs Act, REV Act, and $400 million tax incentive package for cleantech manufacturing, the mHUB expansion will help accelerate the commercialization of new tech solutions to address global challenges, institute an economic development engine in Illinois, and position the state for federal funding through efforts such as the CHIPS Act, Inflation Reduction Act, and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Source : Robotics
