Innovation Districts – a new way of looking at creating an environment – are becoming a hot topic in our world. At the recent SCDF panel, this concept was explored in depth. The panel, moderated by Josh Boren of RCLCO Real Estate Consulting, included Mitra Memari from ZGF, Rosalio Arellanes Jr. from Wexford Science and Technology, and Sam Pepper from Lincoln Property Company as expert panelists to share their experience. The three panelists discussed how innovation districts are being designed and cultivated to foster innovation, collaboration within a community, and economic growth.  

Defining Innovation Districts  

“How do you define innovation districts?”  

Innovation districts are carefully designed to bring together a diverse range of stakeholders, such as research institutions, startups, established companies, and cultural amenities. A fundamental goal of innovation districts is to create an environment that fosters idea exchange, sparks creativity, and accelerates technological advancement. Innovation districts have become catalysts for economic revitalization and resilience in the face of global challenges by concentrating expertise, resources, and talent.   

Universities: The Common Denominator 

The common denominator in creating a successful innovation district that all three panelists agreed on was the need to connect and collaborate with a nearby university.  

Mitra Memari, from ZGF, shared, “You need an anchor institution to help support the growth of innovation. Universities make great anchors for these types of developments. In addition, you need a lot of up-and-coming ideas from smaller organizations that are trying to build an idea. So having the support of the institution and putting those incubator spaces next to the institution helps. But most importantly you need a community.”    

By developing innovation districts around universities, fostering economic development promotes collaboration between academia and industry, with the end goal of creating knowledge-based ecosystems.   

Designing innovation districts   

How can a company create spaces to be fully maximized when we live in a world that changes daily? When going into any project, the panelists all agreed on understanding the needs of the market and,most importantly, understanding the tenant's requirements in that particular market. When starting the design process, including the basics of design, it is critical to have market information that reflects themarket needs. Rosalio Arellanes Jr., from Wexford Science and Technology, stated, “The last thing you want to do is build a project and be able to accommodate half of the prospective tenants in the market. 

When programming and designing these districts, Arellanes also said, “When we get into a project, we start talking to our partners on the ground. Whether that is the university, non-profit, community colleges, city and countyjurisdictions and broker teams. We have a team that exclusively focuses on having those conversations and creating the value proposition for that innovation district.”   

Community Outreach   

Community engagement is a vital aspect of the development of innovation districts for them to be successful, sustainable, and beneficial to the innovation district. 

Sam Pepper, from Lincoln Property Company, emphasized how their client Google is opening their doors to the local community. “Google sees huge value in bringing the public into their spaces. Google users want to share what they are working on and be a helpful neighbor to the local community. Googlers recognize the responsibility they have to the community, and are investing in shared amenities, arts and public programming.It isabout more than just being a good neighbor - it is about really providing the publicwithopportunities, amenities and exposureto what happens at Google.”  

Meari also stated how “we have been ideating new ways to involve communities in innovation districts and reflect the work they are doing within their spaces. One of ZGF’s projects is having farmer markets on the weekends. This helps with community engagement and bringing people in.”  

Innovation districts can positively impact communities by driving economic growth, creating jobs, enhancing the quality of life, and addressing pressing societal challenges. They serve as dynamic hubs of innovation, collaboration, and cultural exchange that benefit not only the individuals and businesses within the district but also the broader community and region.    

No doubt, they will continue to contribute to making our developments more vibrant, exciting and collaborative for years to come.