Draper Breaks Ground on 111,000-SF IMPACT Center in Lowell with Wexford Science & Technology

Draper held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new 111,000-square-foot microelectronics building in Lowell, Massachusetts, the company announced. The facility, which will house Draper's Integrated Microelectronics Production & Advanced Chip Technology (IMPACT) Center, is being developed by Wexford Science & Technology alongside GMH Communities and First Atlantic. Completion is expected in 2029.

Draper IMPACT Center Project Details

The IMPACT Center will be located in the Hamilton Canal Innovation District in Lowell, at 256 Market St., and is part of the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor (LINC). The project is one building. Wexford Science & Technology is serving as the real estate developer, with GMH Communities and First Atlantic participating in the development team. Shawmut Design and Construction and Burns & McDonnell are supporting the development team.

Expected investment in the project is approximately $105 million. Massachusetts and Lowell have committed up to $25 million toward the IMPACT Center, and the broader LINC initiative received a separate state commitment of approximately $75 million. Draper said construction is being supported, in part, by state and local funding in partnership with the city of Lowell to strengthen the defense ecosystem in the Commonwealth.

The project has grown since it was first announced. Initial plans described a 75,000-square-foot facility, which was later revised to approximately 108,000 square feet before the groundbreaking announcement specified 111,000 square feet. Parcel 15, the site of the development, changed hands for $1.49 million.

Facility Scope and Domestic Chip Packaging

Draper said the IMPACT Center will include advanced microelectronic design, production and packaging facilities. Upon completion in 2029, it will offer manufacturing services spanning design to field-ready systems that meet the specific needs of Draper's customers. The Center will enable high-mix, low-volume production supporting domains ranging from microelectronics to advanced precision navigation and timing systems.

"Advanced chip packaging, which bundles multiple chips into a single assembly for placement onto a circuit board, is a critical part of building complex, high-performance systems," said Colleen Anderson, Electronic Systems program director at Draper. "But only 3 percent of chip packaging is performed in the United States today. The IMPACT Center will help to fill this void by providing a reliable domestic source for some of the most sophisticated systems our country produces."

Jerry M. Wohletz, Ph.D., Draper's president and CEO, said microelectronics are a critical component in nearly every system used to safeguard the nation's interests. "To ensure the integrity of these systems, we must build and maintain a domestic microelectronics supply chain – one that is free from foreign influence and disruption," he said. "The IMPACT Center will expand our onshore capacity to create and deploy the systems our nation depends on."

Jobs and Workforce Impact in Lowell

The IMPACT Center will create more than 100 new highly skilled jobs, including technicians, advanced degree engineers and business executives, according to Draper. Wohletz said the center will create new jobs for Lowell residents and UMass Lowell graduates and strengthen Massachusetts' position in the defense industrial base.

Governor Maura Healey said the project "is a major investment in Lowell and is bringing together advanced manufacturing, cutting-edge research and high-quality jobs." Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll said the investment "will bring highly skilled jobs to Lowell, strengthen the city's growing innovation economy, and deepen the connections between Draper, UMass Lowell, and the broader research and manufacturing ecosystem."

Lowell Mayor Erik Gitschier said the project is "another important step in positioning Lowell as a center for advanced manufacturing, research, and workforce development." UMass Lowell Chancellor Julie Chen said LINC "creates an innovation ecosystem where researchers can exchange ideas, students can gain career-connected experiences, and companies can tap into the university's resources and expertise."

Lowell Innovation Network Corridor Context

LINC is an innovation ecosystem that stretches from the UMass Lowell campus into downtown Lowell, driving research, workforce development and economic growth. The corridor is an approximately $800 million public-private development initiative. Draper is an anchor tenant in LINC and currently has a corporate campus established within the corridor, so the IMPACT Center expands an existing Lowell presence.

The corridor is also expected to add nearly 500 market-rate rental units, including a proposed 220,000-square-foot, 229-unit apartment building and a separate 100,000-square-foot, 133-unit project.

The facility is intended primarily for Draper's own operations. Because the building's value will depend heavily on specialized systems, equipment and Draper's long-term occupancy, conventional office or industrial cap-rate comparisons would not apply.

Groundbreaking Ceremony and Attendees

Attendees at the ceremony included Healey and Driscoll, U.S. Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), University of Massachusetts President Marty Meehan, Chen and Lowell Mayor Erik R. Gitschier. Wohletz hosted the event. He was joined by John Grady, chief investment officer and senior vice president of development at Wexford Science & Technology.

Market Implications

The IMPACT Center is a publicly supported, tenant-driven R&D and advanced-manufacturing development rather than a speculative office project. Its funding structure combines state and local support with private development, and it pairs defense-supply-chain objectives with proximity to UMass Lowell in a formerly industrial district of Lowell.

Sources

Wexford Science & Technology: https://wexfordscitech.com/draper-breaks-ground-on-new-microelectronics-building-in-lowell/