Cook Medical Eyes Larger 16 Tech Footprint
(Rendering of 16 Tech's master plan provided by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe ambitious vision of the 16 Tech innovation district in Indianapolis is continuing to take shape. Bloomington-based Cook Group Inc., one of the development’s driving sources of private sector support, is looking to pump more than $16.5 million into the first of what could be several phases of expansion. The medical device manufacturer has had a presence at the property since 2012 and is seeking tax abatement for renovations, new space and equipment it says would create more than 80 positions by 2021.
In a request to the Metropolitan Development Commission, Cook says the expansion would also retain 68 jobs. "Should this project proceed," the company said, "it would increase the likelihood that Cook would continue expansion here in the future." The city estimates the 10-year abatement request would save Cook a total of nearly $930,000 in property taxes.
The district is anchored by the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, which has been billed by its Chief Executive Officer David Broecker as a $360 million "catalyst for a much larger innovation community." It has received support from the public sector, private companies like Cook, Eli Lilly and Co. and Dow AgroSciences LLC, as well as academic institutions such as Indiana University, Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame.