Company Culture

Ribbon cuttings: No. 8 Baltimore tech trend of 2016

Lots of new spaces opened, and they did the ceremonial stuff in new ways.

Joined by Gov. Larry Hogan and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Cordish Companies CEO David Cordish (third from right) raises his arms after flicking the switch to "activate" Spark, January 2016. (Photo by Stephen Babcock)

The end of the year is a time to think about what’s next for 2017, but it’s also worth reflecting on how we got here. We’re looking back at some of the themes that kept coming up in our coverage of Baltimore’s tech community in 2016. See the full list of 2016 trends here.
_________________________________________________________________
Leave it to innovators to rethink the ribbon cutting.
Robots performed the ceremonial duties at Under Armour’s new Lighthouse in Port Covington. At the massive Open Works makerspace in Station North, the scissors were 3D-printed. Spark Baltimore debuted with a flip of the switch, and lightbulbs went on.


With the flurry of plans that were laid in 2015, it figures that the next year would see lots of openings.
The number of new spaces and buildings for startups and entrepreneurs kept the blades sharpened. They show Baltimore tech’s expanding geography. Impact Hub Baltimore in Station North immediately showed its intention to bring the community and leaders together with a full month of events. Along with the Lighthouse, sparks flew as Plank Industries opened the Foundery makerspace at City Garage in Port Covington. Johns Hopkins opened 1812 Ashland Ave. to house new incubator space. In Pigtown, Harbor Designs and Manufacturing debuted expanded space in the Wicomico Building. Co Lab Baltimore brought coworking to Old Goucher. On York Road, The Cube coworking space opened and Towson University debuted new incubator space. For life sciences and biotech, IMET’s Harbor Launch debuted in Columbus Center, and Mt. Sinai hospital opened an incubator.
Some of the city’s best-known startups also moved to new offices, with Allovue opening a new office in Remington’s newly-opened R. House, mybestbox in West Baltimore and Protenus taking space at the Tack Factory, to name just a couple.
We also attended lots of groundbreakings, so this trend could make another appearance next year.

Companies: Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) / Baltimore Foundery / Under Armour / Bio-Rad Laboratories

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

3 ways to support our work:
  • Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
  • Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
  • Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
The journalism fund Preferred partners Our services
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

Why are there so few tech apprenticeships?

Baltimore's innovation scene proved its resilience in 2024

How a Hubble scientist draws on her elite athletic career to advance space exploration

Maryland governor appoints CIO to combat child poverty

Technically Media