Mayor Lori Lightfoot and several other top City and business leaders in May cut the ribbon at a new 14-story biotech and life science incubator, Fulton Labs, at 1375 W. Fulton Market.
Lightfoot predicted the facility will “unlock the City’s assets and grow our life sciences and healthcare innovation centers,” adding, “our national labs are just brimming with talent and ideas, allowing them to build businesses that will ultimately provide lifesaving drugs and therapies.”
Alderman Walter Burnett (27th Ward), who represents the neighborhood in which Fulton Labs is located, said the new incubator, joining three others in the area, “will open the doors to even more opportunity here. There’s a lot of creativity in this community.”
Rod Burch, executive director of the West Central Association, who said his group reviews all new local projects and has been following the incubator’s development, described it as “very positive” for the whole community.
John Flavin, founder and CEO of Portal Innovations, the biotechnology company behind Fulton Labs, and cofounder of the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, said “Fulton Labs is the perfect home for us, and we’re confident that it will quickly become an important national life sciences research and development nucleus.”
The 14-story facility offers 725,000 square feet of laboratory and office space, available for immediate occupancy. Labs have no columns, allowing for maximum efficiency. Amenities include an in-building bicycle valet, indoor parking for 110 cars, and facilities for refreshments. Designed to provide abundant natural light, the building received a gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council for both wiring and for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
Lightfoot also announced additional news about Fulton Market, noting Calamos Investments, a global asset management firm, has signed a multiyear lease for the top floors of Fulton East at 215 N. Peoria St. The office will host up to 100 people.
“We offer a dynamic and desirable business environment,” Lightfoot said. “I want to thank Calamos for committing to Chicago’s future growth and economic success.”
“We selected Fulton East in part because it was designed as one of the safest post-COVID office buildings in the country,” said John Koudounis, Calamos president and CEO. “We are very excited to extend our presence in the Chicago area by adding a new office in the flourishing Fulton Market district.”
To contact Fulton Labs, call (773) 991-0670. For Calamos Investments, call (630) 245-7200.
—Patrick Butler and William S. Bike