Spirits are high at UF Innovation Square. Following the recent success of some tenants, established businesses and entrepreneurial ventures within the area see a bright future for themselves and the Innovation Square community as a whole. Just last week, MonkeyWish.com announced that it will partner with social planning website giant eVite in a move that will result in adding up to 40 new jobs in the area.
“There is a great sense of synergy and momentum right now at Innovation Square,” said Kristi Taylor, CEO of MonkeyWish.com. “With so many brilliant minds working and interacting, huge success at Innovation Square is inevitable.”
When Sears Holdings and MindTree decided earlier in the year to find a home for themselves at office space within Innovation Square, the Gainesville community took notice. In the past few weeks, there have been a number of notable events taking place within Innovation Square that have current organizations in the area excited about the future. Gainesville tech start-up Feathr made splashes last month after receiving a sizeable investment to develop an app for business conferences. Weeks later, mobile solutions and app developer Mobiquity announced its intent to operate in the innovation development.
“It’s not just a great engineering community,” said Bill Seibel, founder and CEO of Mobiquity, when talking to Gainesville’s TV20 about the company’s move to Innovation Square. “Gainesville is a place where students would like to work and live after they graduate. It’s a city that’s so attractive and warm and welcoming and is easy for us to relocate people here.”
As well-established companies continue migrating to the 40-acre science and technology community, the smaller entrepreneurial ventures in the area feed off that momentum.
“When established companies decide to move into commercial real estate at Innovation Square, they bring jobs, economic growth, more credibility and attention to the area,” said Aaron Duthie, CEO of Apps for Docs, a company in Innovation Square that seeks to revolutionize the way doctors make vital decisions and access patient information. “There’s a feeling of upward momentum in the area, and it’s motivating to be around that kind of excitement.”
Commercial properties within the Innovation Square community are populated by an extensive variety of organizations. The science and technology community has been praised by its residents for providing them with an environment that allows the companies to interact and develop relationships. Businesses in the area cite their neighbors’ success as their primary source of motivation.
“UF Innovation Square is truly unique and is situated to become a tech development destination,” Taylor said. “Our community and the University of Florida have brilliantly master planned Innovation Square and are implementing an environment to cultivate development. Any success, including ours, achieved at Innovation Square, breeds more success.”
MonkeyWish.com’s Taylor further mentioned that as neighbors in Innovation Square, companies are physically close to one another. They, however, also have become the emotional support for one another.
“We are all like one big family working hard to help each other succeed,” Taylor said. “Hopefully, our successes can be testimony to the amazing culture that UF Innovation Square provides.”
For more information, contact Josh Steppling at (352) 376-6223 or at [email protected].
about trimark properties
A Gainesville-based real estate firm, Trimark Properties focuses on highly specialized, niche developments immediately adjacent to the University of Florida. Trimark’s portfolio is comprised of ultra-luxury boutique apartments, houses including fully restored historic homes, private residence halls, high-tech research space, and the proposed Infusion Technology Center at UF Innovation Square. The eight-story Infusion Technology center will be the first privately-owned commercial real estate building within the core of Innovation Square, featuring over 150,000 square feet of customizable lab, research, retail, and office space. Since its founding in 1992, Trimark Properties remains committed to responsible growth through integrity and teamwork. Visit www.trimarkproperties.com to learn more.