Newsletter

Philly daily roundup: NextFab downsizes in South Philadelphia; Comcast SportsTech-Notre Dame partnership; Economic growth rankings by city

Plus, meet Will Toms, cofounder digital platform creator space REC.

BOTTLE CAP CLAW MACHINE AT THE SCREWS AND GLUE EXHIBIT AT THE ARTS LEAGUE (COURTESY TIA YANG)

NextFab is closing its South Philly location

NextFab chose to close its South Philly location to focus on supporting the artisan creative community that frequents in North Philly location. But the change isn’t immediate, the South Philly hub won’t close until December.

Over the years, NextFab has operated several spaces across the region. Originally it launched in West Philly, before spreading south and north. The makerspace also had a Wilmington location that closed last year.

➡️ Read more about why NextFab is making this change.

Philly founder Will Toms on building REC

Will Toms cofounded REC, also known as “Resources for Every Creator.” The space has grown from a 600-sq.-ft. warehouse space in North Philly to a 10,000-sq.-ft. space in the Fashion District with production studios, performance venues and retail.

Toms built REC with a focus on collaboration and soon the space will be expanding to Miami. REC is meant to help artists, specifically marginalized communities, access digital platforms.

➡️ Read more about how and why Toms launched REC.

News Incubator: What else to know today

• Virginia Tech’s Institute for Leadership in Technology is accepting applications for the second cohort of its fellowship program until July 31. Participants from the first cohort said the program combined the arts and technology. [Technical.ly]

•  Comcast SportsTech announced that the University of Notre Dame would join its first college partnership. Companies in the program’s next cohort will have the university as a partner option. [Business Wire]

• Philadelphia ranked No. 8 in the top cities for economic growth in a report from Coworking Cafe. Philadelphia’s unemployment rate dropped 1.6% between 2018 and 2022 and median earnings increased 27%. [Coworking Cafe]

• Do you know an exceptional technologist? Nominate them for this year’s RealLIST Engineers list in Philly.  [Google Form]

🗓️ On the Calendar

• Code for Philly’s July Hack Night is on July 9 at Indy Hall. [Details here]

• AI Philly is hosting an AI helpdesk meetup on July 9. AI enthusiasts of all skill levels are welcome to attend. [Details here]

• Philly Data Visualization’s July Meetup is on July 11. [Details here]

Sarah Huffman is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.

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