On January 17, NexCore Group and its subsidiary, HATCHspaces, marked the successful conversion of the historic Boulder Beer Company Brewery building into an innovative hub for emerging companies in the life sciences industry. HATCHlabs @ Wilderness Place, situated at 2880 Wilderness Place, is the ninth project overall for the HATCHspaces brand and the fourth under the NexCore Science & Technology platform.
NexCore partnered with architect Page and general contractor Swinerton to retrofit the 33,700-square-foot building. It offers ready-to-use and adaptable laboratories, wet lab space, tenant storage, and communal facilities like a multimedia conference room, break rooms, freezer farm, and shared restrooms. Specifically designed with premium mechanical/electrical/plumbing (MEP), it sets new standards for life science buildings in Boulder, ensuring quicker and more cost-effective space.
During the design phase of the building, NexCore aimed to pay homage to the legacy of the former owner, the Boulder Beer Company. They sought to capture the entrepreneurial spirit that gave rise to Colorado’s inaugural micro-brewery, envisioning a similar atmosphere of innovation & community for the new tenant/partners at HATCHlabs @ Wilderness Place. A curated art program showcasing old photos and artifacts from the brewery has been incorporated into new art and color inspired by the molecular structure of brewing beer.
“In order for life science clusters to grow, functional and affordable graduation lab space needs to be available for startups emerging from academic labs and incubators. We’ve designed the HATCHspaces platform to be just that.” commented Allan Glass, executive VP of science & technology at NexCore. “Further, our goal is to build innovation clusters by helping science and technology entrepreneurs connect and collaborate with anchor institutions and industry advocates.”
NexCore President Jarrod Daddis said, “This is such an exciting day. There’s nothing better in our business than having the opportunity to invest in, redevelop, and manage buildings like we have here in Boulder, especially in our own backyard. This is more than just a building to us; this is really about investing in community, our tenants, the healthcare industry, and the scientific entrepreneurs who feed, fuel, and heal us.”
Colorado BioScience Association (CBA) President & CEO Elyse Blazevich was also in attendance, representing the largest life science advocacy and support group in the region, noting the importance of groups coming together to address the needs of biotech startups. “The startup companies in our ecosystem could not do the work they do without our university partners and all the support that goes into helping those companies move through the obstacles”, said Blazevich. “Huge kudos to HATCHspaces and NexCore Group for selecting Colorado as a key market. The science we see coming out of this ecosystem is remarkable, so we value that you are here.”
