The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) Board of Directors has awarded a $5 million capital grant to support the establishment of LabCentral, comprising state-of-the-art facilities and services for emerging life sciences companies planned for Cambridge’s Kendall Square. LabCentral will use the grant funding to build a life sciences laboratory to facilitate the creation of startup biotech companies close to the centers of innovation located in Kendall Square. Startups will be able to rent small amounts of lab space in lieu of having to invest in their own larger-scale wet labs. LabCentral is projected to create more than 30 construction jobs and more than 500 new science jobs in startup companies operating at the facility over the next 10 years. Funding for the grant comes from the state’s 10-year, $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative, proposed by Governor Deval Patrick in 2007 and approved by the Legislature in 2008.
