Innovation Center and District

August 2022 Update: 

Now pre-leasing 67,000 sq ft of new, Class A, office, lab and coworking space with ground floor retail. Turn-key build-out for tenant requirements. Base year expense stop. Estimated delivery 3Q/4Q 2023!

Contact Stephanie.Moran@topekapartnership.com and stan@biorealty.com for inquiries and/or tours of the facility.

ASTRA Innovation Center Brochure  –  Listing of Current Available Space – Lease Document

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GO Topeka, is partnering with BioRealty, Inc. to develop a $14.5 million innovation campus approved by the Joint Economic Development Organization (JEDO) in May 2021. The new campus is designed to take advantage of the arrival of Plug and Play’s Animal Health / Ag Tech Startup Accelerator program.  The ASTRA (Animal Science, Technology, Research, and Agriculture) Innovation Center will be a 60,000-sf project anchoring the emerging ASTRA Innovation District in downtown Topeka. This campus is being developed to take advantage of 20 global startups participating each year in the city’s new Plug and Play Animal Health accelerator program. The ASTRA Innovation Center will offer world-class facilities, including wet labs, flexible work and meeting spaces. It will feature office space for business research and innovation, as well as a rooftop venue for events.

“This announcement is transformational for Topeka,” said Duane Cantrell, chair of the Greater Topeka Partnership’s Innovation Advisory Board. “This innovation campus will provide a strategic advantage for Topeka, as the city defines itself as a leader in animal health and ag tech research and development for the region.”

“We are delighted to be working with a terrific partner in Go Topeka to bring a world class innovation center to Downtown Topeka,” said Stan Wendzel, managing director, BioRealty, Inc. “This initial project, which itself will have a very positive long-term impact to the region, is only the beginning step of what we and Go Topeka envision as a large, multi-phase innovation campus or district in Topeka.”

“Plug and Play is excited to see Topeka moving forward on a new innovation campus,” said Stephen Fay, director of corporate partnerships, Plug and Play. “Startups thrive when communities provide intentional space for coworking and collaboration. Topeka’s commitment to pursue this concept is precisely why we chose to partner with them, and we are excited to watch this project develop.”

“GO Topeka purchased land at the Kanza Fire Commerce Park in 2009. $1B in capital investment followed, positioning our city to become a leader in supply chain for the Midwest”, said Molly Howey, President of GO Topeka, “The ASTRA Innovation Center has the potential to be equally catalytic.  This center will allow GO Topeka the ability to offer incentivized lease space to start ups and reinforce our influence in the animal health and agriculture technology sectors for years to come.”

 The Innovation Map  is available to learn more.