The 16 Tech Community Corporation has named Eric J. Miller, a seasoned commercial real estate and development professional, director of Business Development. In this new role, Miller will lead tenant recruitment and real estate development for the 16 Tech Innovation District, ensuring a robust and complementary tenant mix and real estate strategy that support 16 Tech’s mission to foster collaboration among industry sectors.
The 16 Tech Innovation District, located on the near west side of downtown Indianapolis, is being designed to ignite collaboration among innovators and entrepreneurs in life sciences, tech, advanced manufacturing and engineering in an urban live-work-play-learn environment.
16 Tech broke ground in December 2018 on the first new building in the district, a 120,000-square-foot, $30 million Advanced Research and Innovation building that anchors the innovation district. The 5-story building will be the headquarters of the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (IBRI), the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP), including its talent and industry initiatives, and researchers with the Indiana University School of Medicine’s newly established Indiana Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering, a molecular therapeutics program and technology incubator.
“The anchor facility has set the precedent for the kinds of tenants we are recruiting to 16 Tech – organizations and individuals who are advancing innovations, programs and services across the life sciences, tech, engineering and other advanced industry sectors,” said Bob Coy, president and CEO of 16 Tech Community Corporation, the nonprofit operating entity of the innovation district. “16 Tech is being built to attract entrepreneurs, new companies and established companies in search of an environment and the resources that support innovation. Eric will help us fulfill our commitment to building an innovation ecosystem.”
Prior to joining 16 Tech, Miller worked in commercial real estate in the Research Triangle Region of North Carolina for more than 15 years. Much of his work focused on redevelopment and historic/adaptive reuse projects in downtown Durham, NC. Most recently, he served as vice president of Brokerage with Real Estate Associates Inc., a leading commercial real estate firm in Durham, NC. His professional background also includes sales, marketing, public relations and fundraising.
Miller was raised in an entrepreneurial family with businesses ranging from real estate to electronics to natural foods. After college, he launched his professional career with a move to work with Duke University as part of the advancement program. His move into real estate was sparked by work with a land trust and desire to be a part of his community’s urban revival.
