New labs open at Cortex in St. Louis after $2M renovation

ST. LOUIS — New lab space has opened in Cortex in what could be among the first of more workplace changes to come at the Central West End innovation district.

CIC St. Louis, an operator of “flexible,” or shared, offices and event spaces, opened its shared and private lab space on South Sarah Street and Forest Park Avenue on Friday after a $2 million renovation in partnership with Cortex that started this spring.

The company, which has locations around the world, said it invested in the labs at Cortex after seeing its labs in Philadelphia fully occupied during the pandemic and realizing the potential in St. Louis.

At Cortex, lab space is available at a fraction of what it would cost companies and entrepreneurs on their own, and is part of the company’s focus on the life sciences industry in St. Louis, said John Land, general manager for CIC St. Louis.

“There’s still a reckoning with the shift in how people work and where they work,” said Land. “We are a co-working space, but we have to be much more than that in order to capture what people need.”

That move mirrors a broader pivot taking place across Cortex, a 200-acre office and research district that at one time boasted a 99% tenant occupancy rate. But in the aftermath of the pandemic, which popularized remote work, Cortex is aiming to reinvigorate the campus with resources and amenities companies can’t replicate from home.

“We are proud to continue our partnership with CIC to provide the best environment possible for world-changing research and ideas to come to fruition,” Cortex CEO Sam Fiorello said in a statement. “Homegrown startups and newly recruited companies alike will benefit from these new renovations that equip scientists, spanning discovery to commercialization, with essential tools to propel their life science research forward.”

CIC has leased its 20 South Sarah building from Cortex for 10 years. The company was launched in 1999 and now has co-working spaces in seven other locations around globe, including Tokyo, Berlin and Boston. CIC chooses cities based on existing institutions that can support entrepreneurs, availability of workers and cost of living. CIC provides networking, consulting and other services to help entrepreneurs, said Michelle Ottey, vice president of labs and centers for CIC.

“By having access to that shared equipment, you’re not using your capital for that,” Ottey said. “You can invest in talent.”

At the renovated labs at Cortex, there are six private labs available for groups up to 44 people, as well as shared lab space with six “benches” for individuals and small teams. The renovation also includes equipment from Thermo Fisher Scientific, including a $75,000 microscope.

Germany-based Eppendorf also will provide CIC St. Louis with equipment and discounts, as well as individualized support via regular office hours and events for CIC.