One uCity Square is officially open, housing life science companies and research labs

University City introduced its newest shiny building last week when the One uCity Square building officially opened with a ribbon cutting on Thursday.

The 400,000-square-foot space at 37th and Cuthbert streets will house research labs and life sciences companies. This includes Penn Medicine’s Institute for RNA Innovation and Penn Engineering’s Center for Precision Engineering in Health.

Local life sciences companies Century Therapeutics, Exponent and Integral Molecular are among the commercial tenants that already call the building home. Integral Molecular, a life sciences research and development company, opened its offices and lab space at One uCity Square this spring.

“uCity Square is more than just lab and office space; it also represents a dynamic cluster of talent, innovation, collaboration, and opportunity that helps our recruiting, research, partnerships, and productivity,” said Sharon Willis, cofounder of Integral Molecular, in a written statement.

The building is 13 stories tall with both lab and office spaces, outdoor terraces, and onsite parking for cars and bikes. The first floor has retail and meeting space.

Developer Wexford Science and Technology partnered with Ventas Inc. and the University City Science Center on this building, which is part of a larger, years-long project to develop uCity Square.

This includes The Square, a public outdoor space across from One uCity Square that plans to host community events for the surrounding neighborhood. The development partners plan to add 4 million more square feet of space to the larger uCity Square project.

“The University of Pennsylvania’s decision to position key research labs in One uCity Square paired with the momentum with which high growth companies choose to locate in the building is further validation of the importance of the uCity Square Knowledge Community as an inclusive hub of university research, corporate engagement, start-up activity, community programming, and quality-of-life amenities,” said John Grady, SVP and northeast region executive for Wexford.

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.