February 2025 - BY GEORGE N. SALIBA, CONTRIBUTING WRITER for NJB Magazine

Princeton, NJ - February 2025

Ten Years ago, when NJIT’S New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) President Michael Johnson, PhD, was searching for real estate space for his startup company, he couldn’t locate a 10,000-square-foot laboratory in the state: “[Available space] just didn’t exist, and that was a huge problem. There were [real estate] spaces that were a million square feet, but there wasn’t something for a startup company per se…”

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The scenario has since changed due to philosophical shifts at government, corporate and university levels. In an ongoing trend, startup incubators have been flourishing both throughout New Jersey and
the nation as they provide appropriately sized real estate and offer multiple tenants access to high-tech equipment as well as community-building with other entrepreneurs/startups. Enhanced access to capital is often another benefit.