Norfolk Innovation Corridor

The NIC, in partnership with the Norfolk Economic Development Department, currently offers the following incentives to qualifying technology companies:

• Abatement of the Business, Professional, and Occupational License (BPOL) taxes (100% for 2 years; 50% for 3 years)
• Fifty percent (50%) reduction in planning, zoning and building permit fees

PROPOSED NEW INCENTIVES (under consideration)

• Exempt technology equipment from business property tax
• Support for patents and commercialization
• Subsidized access to high-speed broadband

Entrepreneurs and innovators are coming and will come to the Norfolk Innovation Corridor to get what they need (a good deal of which is already here and some of which we are going to make happen):

• An enhanced ability to recruit and retain talented, skilled workers from diverse backgrounds who want to live, work and play in a Corridor marked by a vibrant nautical, recreational, cultural and arts scene right outside their door
• Access to advanced technologies, research and innovation occurring on our anchor academic and health care campuses
• Help from mentors, researchers and professional advisors based Downtown and on the campuses of our anchor institutions
• Due to enhanced connectivity and visibility in the Corridor, a better opportunity to raise capital and gain access to grants (which should get bigger and more numerous as our anchor institutions regularly collaborate in the mutual development of the Corridor)
• A “collision economy,” where cross-fertilization of ideas with nearby entrepreneurial peers happens
• Proximity to influencers for the promotion and marketing of their resilience products, services and technologies
• Ultra-high-speed internet service at a competitive price (pending)
• Incentives and other practical support from an appreciative City government
• A workforce stimulated by a steady stream of Corridor programming aimed at supplying them with state-of-the-art business information while enveloping them in a buzzing community of innovative friends and colleagues
• Use of shared labs and other facilities that might otherwise be unavailable to them (pending)
• A first look at the pipeline of future talent to be generated by coding academies; a cyber defense virtual camp; undergraduate and graduate programs; computer science, computer engineering, and software engineering graduate programs (offerered in-person and/or online) by our participating anchor colleges and universities
• An opportunity to be a more valued and involved member of the Norfolk community than they could ever hope to be in New York, Boston, Northern Virginia or Silicon Valley

ReAlta Life Sciences has recently closed on a $26 million Series A2 equity financing, enabling this Norfolk-based bio-tech firm spawned by physicians and researchers affiliated with Corridor anchors EVMS and CHKD, to advance a new class of its proprietary therapeutic platform, which initially was earmarked for the treatment of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a severe birth complication affecting newborns suffering from oxygen deprivation to the brain. However, with FDA approval, ReAlta is also exploring the therapeutic efficacy of its bio-tech therapies for other inflammatory disorders, including the acute lung injury that results from a destructive response by the immune system, such as the “cytokine storm” associated with a COVID-19 infection.

Northfield Medical Manufacturing produces a full suite of sterile medical procedure trays and other operating room consumables, along with a wide range of workplace safety products, such as spill kits and specialized PPE for healthcare, foodservice, education and hospitality industries. Its portfolio of products help organizations keep their employees, patients, customers and other important stakeholders safe.

All of Northfield’s spill kits, surgical packs and custom procedure trays are assembled in their two production facilities, one of which houses their FDA-registered clean room for sterile medical products. Northfield is a proud private label partner for a number of national brands including PURELL®, Walgreens and Owens & Minor, and a high-volume importer and distributor of PPE for various government entities and healthcare systems.

Embody, from its laboratory facility on Monarch Way, is pioneering a regenerative collagen-based tissue scaffolding for the repair of tendon and ligament injuries such as tears and ruptures of the Achilles tendon, ACL knee-joint ligament and rotator cuff muscle/tendon, whether suffered by our nation’s warriors, accomplished athletes or weekend wannabees who need a resilience solution to their ailment. Founded in 2014, Embody has attracted financing from 757 Angels, national private equity firms and the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

SVT Robotics has offered to apply its software robotics technology (currently used primarily by third-party logistics providers and other industrial facilities) to also perform tasks in hospitals and other healthcare settings that are predictable, repetitive and otherwise well-suited for performance by a robot rather than a human, thereby protecting our invaluable human assets in the healthcare workforce by reducing their interactions with patients and colleagues that put them at risk of infection. This not only frees up critical time and capacity to administer care that only humans can deliver, it also conserves scarce PPE. The possibilities created by SVT’s robotics technology in protecting our courageous healthcare talent is an example of how resilience technology being developed right here in Norfolk could be exported nationally and internationally to help communities respond to menaces such as infectious disease. Meanwhile, SVT’s technology will continue to serve a growing need in maintaining the resilience of our industrial supply chain.

Resilient Enterprise Solutions has announced its first Home Raising Academy to educate local contractors and allied trades on the methods and skills required to elevate coastal structures as a precaution against sea level rise. With offices in Pittsburgh and Norfolk, RES has received significant support from the Corridor-based RISE accelerator headed by Paul Robinson. RES has developed particular expertise in home elevation and flood proofing, which are resilience products, services and technologies that will require a skilled workforce to implement (a core area of expertise for our region to excel in).

3DXtremes is an “end-to-end” product development firm offering physical product design, prototyping and manufacturing assistance services in downtown Norfolk, helping innovators design, validate and launch their new product ideas. 3DXtremes’ team of expert product designers and fabricators, located at The Colony beside IPConfigure, have direct in-house access to various prototyping & production methods, with over 60 different materials including various plastics, rubbers, metals, silicone and more. 3DXtremes’ digital design & fabrication capabilities & workflows have allowed for rapid development, prototyping and evaluation of new products for use during the COVID-19 pandemic, including those associated with PPE, UV-light sanitization and filtration methods.”

RISE, a non-profit with a mission to accelerate innovation and business growth by identifying and scaling solutions to coastal communities’ resilience challenges, has recently announced five winners of the 2020 RISE Coastal Community Resilience Challenges. The winners are small businesses that will each receive up to $250,000 to advance and demonstrate cutting-edge solutions to make coastal communities more resilient. RISE plans to work with these five companies to pilot their approaches in a “living laboratory” environment across the Hampton Roads region, with the goal of building economically scalable businesses. This cohort of five winners joins six winners from prior-year challenges (including RES). In addition to funding, these 11 companies benefit from the substantial resources offered by the RISE Resilience Innovation Hub and Testbed.

The Elizabeth River Project is constructing a nationally significant education center on environmental resilience, with a Learning Park open to the public, on Knitting Mill Creek. The facility will be directly across Colley Avenue from the new Norfolk Innovation Corridor home for ODU’s Institute for Coastal Adaptation & Resilience (ICAR). While furthering its mission to restore the Elizabeth River to health, Elizabeth River Project also aims to demonstrate what is practical and achievable for environmental and human resilience for those who might consider building in the floodplain or re-engineering their current structures at risk due to rising tides. Elizabeth River Project also is leading the launch of an “eco-corridor” along the northern stretch of Colley Avenue and other areas draining to Knitting Mill Creek, helping to frame our Innovation Corridor.