San Antonio's Eastside district just scored a high-tech win with the opening of a new 5,000-square-foot community lab space known as VelocityTX Co-Labs. Developed to serve as a hub for budding bioscience companies, the facility celebrated its grand opening today. Rene Dominguez, CEO of VelocityTX, didn't hold back his pride, stating in a San Antonio Report interview, "The fact that we developed this entire city block in a little over four years is pretty amazing."
VelocityTX, formerly Texas Research & Technology Foundation, has stood for economic development for four decades but honed in on biosciences as its spearhead in recent times. Dominguez outlined the nonprofit's "North Star" to transform around 70 acres of the East Side into an innovation district. The mix of biosciences and military medical research is supposed to capitalize on the Defense Health Agency's consolidation efforts. This revelation surfaces amid healthcare and biosciences being pegged as the largest single sector in San Antonio's economy.
The latest development is part of a larger vision that includes cultivating the G.J. Sutton property. Plans are underway to morph it into a sprawling innovation campus destined to attract a military medical research tenant. The San Antonio economy is already strong, owing to a hefty $39 billion punch from the military in 2021, according to the Texas Comptroller’s office. With the installation of the Co-Labs and prospective projects, VelocityTX aims to further interweave and bolster these sectors. A tandem of conferences on military and medical research innovation, the AIM Health R&D Summit, is slotted for next month to advance those ambitions.
State players have taken note. State Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins, who has been a solid supporter of VelocityTX’s vision, attended the grand opening, as did Robert Peche of the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Peche's contribution to the lab space—secured by a $4 million federal grant—didn't go unnoticed. Dominguez credited him with polishing the proposal for the facility, which offers both private and shared lab spaces, the latter being an option where startups can rent individual benches and vent hoods. Dominguez told the San Antonio Report, "Lessees will also have access to the adjacent VelocityTX Innovation Center."
This innovation campus isn't just academic blue sky; real companies are thriving here. GenCure, already housed within, is set to expand thanks to another newly finished building. They, along with other tenants like Scorpius Biomanufacturing and the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research, exemplify the collaborative essence VelocityTX is championing. The facility, also home to TransPecos Bank and respective business affiliates, collectively employs a robust workforce of 125.
VelvetTX places high stakes on its military medical trove. Patricia Geppert, freshly appointed director of innovation, will play a pivotal role in harnessing and commercializing military medical research. "It’s all about leveraging San Antonio’s strength in this industry. We’re lucky to have her as our navigator," Dominguez emphasized. The SAMMI initiative is also under VelocityTX's wing, set to stimulate commercialization and, with it, regional economic prosperity.
The AIM Health R&D Summit promises more than just discussions—it phosphorescent the prospect of tangible financial incentives. The BexarBio pitch competition is poised to offer $100,000 in prizes, injecting hope and momentum into the biomedical startup scene. Geppert reflected to the San Antonio Report on the bustling interest from young companies, seeing it as a testament to the sector's vitality and a beacon for future growth. San Antonio's east side, it seems, is on a swift rise to becoming a nexus of innovation in the bioscience realm.
