UPDATE, 10:15 a.m., July 20: Rewrite throughout adding quotes. Also adding audio of David Nichols speaking to AEDC board, City Council.
By Michael V. Hannigan
The Athens Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) board and the Athens City Council met jointly Friday, July 17, to approve a lease for FutureMatrix Interventional to expand into the former Biotech Manufacturing Center building.
The area to be occupied by FutureMatrix is about 23,000 square feet.
“We’ve been incredibly blessed,” FutureMatrix Executive Director David Nichols told the joint meeting. “We’ve got an opportunity to take our company to the next level. I applaud the work that (AEDC Executive Director) Lisa (Denton) and her team has done to really give us an opportunity to do that.”
“It is a great opportunity for us to step into a facility that is ready made for what we do,” he said.
Listen to David Nichols speaking to the AEDC, City Council
AEDC Board President Jess Laird said, “You have been a great corporate citizen; Jim Passmore has been wonderful for the community. I can’t tell you how appreciative I am at how fast your company put this together. … This is a great opportunity for us, for the City of Athens and for the county.”
Under the 10-year lease, FutureMatrix will pay $6,500 a month in rent plus a $6,500 deposit to the AEDC, promises to complete $600,000 in capital improvements and add to their local employee base which already numbers more than 300.
The AEDC will add $50,000 in incentives over three years, which breaks down to $20,000 for the capital improvements and $30,000 when 15 more jobs are created.
FutureMatrix was founded in Athens in 1993 and has “expertise in research, design and manufacturing of life saving and life-improving disposable medical devices….”
The space at the AEDC-owned building became available following the failure and liquidation of the Biotech Manufacturing Center (BMC). The BMC was a non-profit organization created to be an incubator for medical device companies.
According to AEDC Executive Director Lisa Denton, FutureMatrix is buying the equipment in the building from the BMC.
