The University purchased the building on the SW corner of 53rd and Harper. This reveals their plans for the upper floors of that and other neighboring buildings, but I wonder if they'll clean up the first floor retail as well.
http://news.uchicago.edu/article/201...icago-startups
New innovation hub uses discovery to fuel Chicago startups
Chicago Innovation Exchange to open on 53rd Street, sparking business and product creation
OCTOBER 11, 2013
The University of Chicago announced Friday that it has created a new center to help scholars and entrepreneurs translate their ideas and new technologies into startup businesses and products.
The Chicago Innovation Exchange (CIE), which will open in late 2014 in the 53rd Street commercial district in Hyde Park, will provide space for proof-of-concept work, business incubation, collaboration opportunities, and programming for new ventures by UChicago faculty and students, as well as entrepreneurs from outside the University. It also will cultivate partnerships to connect emerging entrepreneurs with Chicago’s broader innovation ecosystem and drive the creation of new businesses, jobs, and economic activity in the city and surrounding region.
The CIE will bring together the University’s distinctive strengths in research and resources from a network of world-class entrepreneurship programs to drive innovation in a range of areas, applying scientific discoveries to generate scalable solutions to difficult societal problems.
The center will have space to incubate five to 10 new companies a year, along with co-working space, gathering places, and meeting rooms that together can accommodate up to 350 people in full working mode.
...The CIE will draw participation from different parts and affiliates of the University, including Argonne National Laboratory; the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the Michael P. Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation; the College; the Computation Institute; Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory; the Institute for Molecular Engineering; the Marine Biological Laboratory; the Physical Sciences Division; the Biological Sciences Division and the University of Chicago Medicine; UChicago’s Center for Technology Development & Ventures, or UChicagoTech; the Urban Education Institute; and the University of Chicago Law School. The CIE will be a central hub for these distinct entities, allowing for greater collaboration, sharing of resources, and a regular exchange of ideas—complementing existing innovation efforts in Chicago.