HomeMy WebLinkAboutINVERNESS INNOVATION PARK FIRST FILING (ROCKY MOUNTAIN INNOVATION INITIATIVE) - FDP - 30-09A/B - MEDIA - CORRESPONDENCERMI2 to hold official groundbreaking for new building
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BY DAVID YOUNG
DavidYoung@coloradoan.com
Rocky Mountain Innovation
Initiative, or RMI2, will start
a new chapter this week with
the official groundbreaking of
its new building.
Groundwork on the project,
started two months ago, and
construction on the $7.2 mil-
lion, 32,000-square-foot, three-
story facility at 320 E. Vine
Drive will commence within
the next couple of weeks. It is
slated to be completed by 2011.
RMI2 staff, board members,
client companies, investors
and city and state officials will
gather at 3 p.m. Wednesday at
the Inverness Innovation
Office Park for a ceremonial
groundbreaking.
RMI2, a Fort Collins
501(c)3 nonprofit organization
dedicated to promoting inno-
vation in Northern Colorado,
has helped launch such start-
up companies as ZeroHero,
Eckstein Diagnostics and
Sprig Toys. The new building
will provide them with more
office space and the ability to
lower lease rates.
The move will double its
space and allow the organiza-
tion to consolidate its four
facilities in Fort Collins into
one. Companies will have
access to a conference room,
reception area, training rooms
and a 3,000-square-foot wet
lab for bioscience companies.
RMI2 will break ground on
its new building at 320 E.
Vine Drive, Fort Collins, at
3 p.m. Wednesday. For more
information, visit www.rmi2.
org.
chief executive officer of RMI2,
in a prepared statement.
"With humble beginnings,
RMI2 is now a regional leader
in business incubation and
has captured the national
attention of organizations
such as the Kaufrnan
Foundation for its successful
programs and nurturing of
high -potential innovative
startups."
The city's chief financial offi-
The new building and office
park located within the North
College Urban Renewal Area
received a $5.3 million loan
from the city along with an
estimated $1.9 million new
market tax credit. A $2.8 mil-
lion grant from the Fort Collins
Urban Renewal Authority
board for tax increment financ-
ing will offset the city's loan.
RMI2 plans to move into the
new facility by the end of 2010.
"The groundbreaking cere-
mony for the new RMI2 office
space is significant for the
Northern Colorado entrepre-
neurial community, the city of
Fort Collins and our many
partners, volunteers and sup-
porters," said Mark Forsyth, on.
cer, Mike Freeman, said there
were challenges in the two
years leading up to this point,
but having the new facility will
enhance •RMI2's ability to
attract and serve startup com-
panies in the region.
This puts a stake in the
ground for Fort Collins and
Northern Colorado to develop
projects for startups,"
Freeman said. "It enhances
their capability and services."
RMI2 started as the Fort
Collins Technology Incubator
in 1998. Since then it has
grown and expanded its focus
throughout the region. In the
next five years, RMI2 plans to
add more than 40 new startup
companies to its organization
creating 400 new primary jobs
and raising more than $120
milli