Chicago & Midwest + Downtown + Industrial | June 1, 2021

Innovation Centers Secure $2.8M Federal Grant

Chicago-based innovation centers mHUB, MATTER and 1871 secured a $2.78-million federal grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to invigorate startups and small businesses through their Chicago Proactive Response (CPR) COVID-19 initiative. Now entering Phase Two, the collaboration will support startups and small businesses as they build a road to economic recovery through wealth and job creation.

With the grant funding, the number of startups currently supported by mHUB, MATTER and 1871 is projected to grow from 1,000 to 1,325, resulting in more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs created over the next 10 years.

Tenets of the program include a continuous learning system for entrepreneurial training, small business digitization support, technical and prototyping support for hardtech innovation, a regional manufacturing and business services supplier network, and entrepreneurial development programs that support regional economic recovery as Illinois rebuilds.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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