A New Markets Tax Credit investment from Cinnaire will support the development of a new, 100,000-square-foot building dedicated to financial technologies at the University of Delaware’s Science, Technology and Advanced Research Campus (STAR) in Newark.
Cinnaire, which has a Delaware office, provided a $9 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation to the Delaware Technology Park to support the FinTech building, the latest project on the University of Delaware’s STAR Campus. Construction is expected to be completed in November 2021.
“FinTech will transform the future of Delaware’s growth in the financial technology sector, providing a space for entrepreneurs and innovators to collaborate on impactful projects,” said Peter Giles, Cinnaire vice president, business development. “This project will expand economic and educational opportunities while creating jobs for Delaware residents. The New Markets Tax Credit continues to bring investment to communities that need it most, demonstrating the value of the program.”
The Delaware Technology Park is a nonprofit research park, providing development-stage life science, information technology, advanced materials, and renewable energy companies with access to the resources and connections needed to drive and thrive and accelerate their economic success.
The Technology Park’s original site is near the College Square shopping center site, Newark.
“Delaware Technology Park is excited to launch the FinTech building on STAR Campus in conjunction with the University of Delaware and funded by Discover Bank and Cinnaire,” said Mike Bowman, President and CEO of DTP. “It will contain faculty, students and entrepreneurs with outstanding data science knowledge and digital management competencies as well as support resources for business development and community education.”
The FinTech building will serve as a hub for financial and academic services with a mix of private and university tenants. The project will host a new Financial Services Incubator, the Delaware Small Business Development Center, labs and centers associated with the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics and the College of Engineering. The incubator will provide space, resources and tech assistance to early stage financial and business software entrepreneurs and start-up companies.
The goal of the new fintech incubator is to be a place where entrepreneurs, students and university faculty can collaborate, especially on topics like financial analytics, cybersecurity, human-machine learning and data analysis.
The state’s Small Business Development Center also will have an office in the building so it can help implement the Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships’ “Spin In” program that places UD undergrads in early-stage startups to give students real-life experience with entrepreneurship and give the companies access to the university’s emerging talent.
UD’s Lerner College of Business and Economics will build a cybersecurity leadership center that will link Lerner’s cybersecurity management with the College of Engineering’s cybersecurity engineering and technology, a space for human-machine learning and social media data analysis, and a multimedia studio.
Cinnaire is a non-profit financial partner that supports community and economic revitalization initiatives through creative investments, loans and development services. A federally certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Cinnaire manages more than $621 million in New Markets Tax Credit investments.
Cinnaire has invested $4.7 billion to develop 811 housing communities in 10 states, providing 49,700 affordable apartment homes for more than 100,000 individuals and families.
