Phila's NextFab plans 3d 'Makerspace', in Del. this time
Evan Malone: We'll open 3,500 sf site in early 2016
NextFab, the Philadelphia-based, for-profit operator of 3-D printers and other computer-controlled tools for company founders, tech tinkerers and scholars at sites in South Philadelphia and Center City, says it plans a third location in Wilmington, backed by a new $350,000 grant from the taxpayer-funded Delaware Strategic Fund.
Founder Evan Malone Ph.D. said in a statement the Delaware makerspace will locate in the city's Creative District. That's a slice of downtown where Delaware is trying to attract software-intensive industries to help offset the brain drain the city has suffered with the withdrawal of the DuPont Co. and other big employers.
Malone plans to open a 3,500-sq ft facility, about one-eighth the size of its flagship Washington Ave. location in South Philadelphia, in the first half of 2016.