SFDF News & Information

The Technology Business Center is projected to reach capacity during its fourth year of operation and is currently negotiating leases with several additional companies and organizations. The center will provide space and business development assistance to these companies with the goal of "graduating" the companies in approximately three years.

"We achieved several exciting milestones last year," said Dave Link, chairman of the center's board of directors. "To date, four companies have made presentations to our Admissions Committee, which is the last step before being accepted into the Technology Business Center." The Admissions Committee consists of the center's board of directors and members of its Advisory Board.

The Technology Business Center project started as a part of the Forward Sioux Falls program more than three years ago and another milestone is the on-time completion of initial construction. The 38,000 square foot business incubator was completed in December.

While initial construction is complete, planning is already underway for the next phase of the project - - developing lab space and resources for biotechnology startups. According to Executive Director Rich Naser, the objective will be to provide basic labs that can be customized to meet the needs of current and future biotech companies.

"Depending on the company's activities, initial construction of lab space can be very expensive. We believe we can reduce that barrier for companies exploring the biotech market," Naser said.

For additional information about the Technology Business Center and its programs, contact Rich Naser at (605) 275-8000 or richn@sdtbc.com.