Goose Island is about to experience a radical change from a location known for its brewery to one that will feature a tremendously important digital research and manufacturing facility. The new Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute will be located just north of River West and the Fulton River District on Goose Island, although its exact location is still unknown reported to be at 930 West Evergreen Avenue, a facility owned by Mars Incorporated. The $320 million UI Labs manufacturing facility will be coming Chicago's way via a $70 million award from the Department of Defense along with $16 million raised by the State of Illinois and the rest coming from private contributions. The institute will focus on research and developing new technologies as well as manufacturing, leading many to believe that it will have the ability to boost Chicago's tech industry beyond startups and incubators into high level research and development. Mayor Emanuel is beyond pumped that Chicago is receiving this award and believes that the new facility may have "the potential to be the Silicon Valley of new digital manufacturing and advanced manufacturing."
· Chicago wins $70 million grant for UI Labs [Crain's]
· Chicago secures digital manufacturing site with help of private funds [Tribune]
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