Last night, St. Louis' primary IT incubator, T-Rex, celebrated its expansion. It will join other IT, social media start-ups (such as Lockerdome.com, Pushup.com, Unisys etc.) as well as
Lab 1500 entrepreneurial center on Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis.
T-REx incubator buys Lammert building
October 23, 2013 12:00 am • By Lisa Brown
St. Louis' primary IT start-up incubator has bought a new building to celebrate its 2nd birthday.
Technology incubator
T-REx has purchased the Lammert building on Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis to provide more co-working space for startups, accelerator programs and venture capital firms.
T-REx — short for technology regional entrepreneur exchange — has grown to more than 70 startups, accelerator programs and venture capital firms at leased space in the Railroad Exchange Building, 611 Olive Street, since it launched in September 2011.
Backed by the Partnership for Downtown St. Louis, the St. Louis Regional Chamber and the city of St. Louis, T-REx offers subsidized office space for startups to help spur job creation. Rates go for as little as $80 a month for an office chair and Internet access, and the ability to work shoulder to shoulder with other emerging businesses.
Now
T-REx is moving to accommodate growth. The relocation to the Lammert building, a few blocks away at 911 Washington Avenue, will allow it to add up to 50 more companies and add 240 jobs over the next five years, according to Zack Boyers, chairman and CEO of St. Louis-based U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corp., which is providing financing for the Lammert acquisition.
T-REx will initially occupy nearly three floors of the eight-story Lammert building, which has 160,000 square feet of space and is 60 percent occupied. Ultimately, the incubator could grow to as much as 100,000 square feet of space in the building, said Kevin Farrell, senior director of economic and housing development for the Partnership of Downtown St. Louis.
The building on Washington Avenue “gives us an opportunity for a greater presence,” he said.
The building, more than 100 years old, has tall ceilings, wooden beams and concrete floors. “It’s a beautiful building, with innate character that a lot of entrepreneurs appreciate,” Farrell said.
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