You might have noticed some developments in the Innovation Quarter (iQ) this year. We celebrated new tenants (shout out to Tuscani) and events that packed the house (looking at you, Juneteenth!).
There were also many other kinds of developments that happened in the iQ this year. These happenings were more behind-the-scenes, but are setting the stage for exciting growth in the innovation district in 2026 and beyond. This less obvious kind of growth builds the greater ecosystem of Winston-Salem, investing in the wellbeing of the city by developing land and creating new resources as a foundation for the innovation district’s future.
These developments in the iQ will bring more people to the district, provide new opportunities for entrepreneurs, startups, and innovative companies, and pave the way (literally) for new buildings and economic impact. But how will these developments affect you? Let’s take a look.
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Eye Institute
The Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Eye Center is on the frontlines of treating eye conditions, and if you or a loved one ever needs eye care, a new Eye Institute downtown will expand access to world-class clinicians, technologies, and clinical trials (not to mention better parking than what’s available at the current location).
Located: 635 Vine Street
What Happened:
In May, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist started renovations on its new Eye Institute, located in the former Inmar Intelligence building in the iQ. The approximately $100 million renovation will result in a state-of-the-art clinical facility for the assessment and treatment of a variety of eye conditions and diseases, as well as expanding the research and teaching capabilities of its ophthalmology department.
Why It’s Important:
It’s a matter of numbers. The current facilities receive over 100,000 visits a year from patients–both adults and children–spread out over a five-state region. The quality of care continues to draw an increasing number of patients, and the new Eye Institute will create more room for clinical care and specialized spaces for testing and diagnostics, which will improve the efficiency of visits, waiting times for patients, and access to the latest methods in eye care.
Also, the hands-on training and educational spaces will help the faculty to better train the next generation of ophthalmologists and other eye-related medical professionals. These future medical providers are an essential component of quality eye care, as they will assist the growing number of patients, due to an aging population.
“The Eye Institute will bring a new patient population to the Innovation Quarter,” says Terry Hales, executive vice chief academic officer of administration for Advocate Health, which includes oversight of Advocate’s innovation districts. “These additions will add a valuable patient-care component to a community that is already dedicated to improving medicine through education and research.”
The Sparq™ Ecosystem
If you are interested in starting a business or if you are already an entrepreneur, Sparq and Sparq Labs might be the next step in growing your dreams. Sparq provides coworking space for entrepreneurs, remote workers, small business owners, and others. Sparq Labs consists of affordable lab space for life science and biotech companies that’s perfect for start-ups or departments of a larger organization that need their own dedicated space.
If you’re not any of these people, this is still good news for you, though more indirectly. The more companies that successfully grow here, the better the city’s economy becomes and the prospect of a bright future for its residents increases.
Located: Bailey Power Plant & One Technology Place
What Happened:
2025 was a year of growth for the Sparq ecosystem. Sparq Labs, which opened in 2024, reached near complete capacity as biotech companies continue to relocate to Winston-Salem to be closer to a growing population of life sciences, regenerative medicine, and biotechnology companies. Sparq Labs was designed to house small- to medium-sized companies who need affordable lab space for research and development.
Sparq Labs’ companion service, Sparq, provides coworking space and conference facilities for the tenants of Sparq Labs, but is also home to a growing number of remote workers, solopreneurs, and small businesses in a range of industries. This year, Sparq hosted a Techstars Startup Weekend in partnership with Vision to Venture, bringing an even wider range of entrepreneurs, students, tech companies, researchers and others to experience startup life.
Why It’s Important:
Growth for both Sparq and Sparq Labs heralds expanding opportunities in innovation and the Winston-Salem ecosystem. A hallmark of innovation districts is coworking space because it’s considered an important resource for entrepreneurs and startups, which function as the lifeblood of a district’s future. Sparq provides that resource and also serves as a connector between the community and the ecosystem of the iQ.
“As new as Sparq is, we’ve seen some promising growth in our membership,” says Jessica Aveyard, membership and operations manager for Sparq. “We’re seeing possibilities for collaborations and connections within the innovation district that are really exciting.”
That ecosystem is increasingly attracting companies in the life sciences and biotechnology, as evidenced by the growth of Sparq Labs. Sparq Labs was an experiment to see if the iQ could provide the industry-specific lab space and collaboration opportunities that attract this kind of company. It worked. In only a year, there’s more demand than there is capacity, a sign that this sector is on the move in Winston-Salem.
“The fact that Sparq Labs is nearly at capacity and that we’ve had so much more interest in it means that we’re filling an important need for life sciences and biotech companies,” says Isaac Perry, head of biotech and life sciences ecosystem development for the iQ and Greater Winston-Salem Inc.
Linden Center
Winston-Salem has been building a reputation as a good place to start or move science and technology companies, and that sector is an important component of the city’s future (i.e., the Sparq Labs growth mentioned above). Efforts to support that growth–including the acquisition of the former Linden Center–are helping to improve Winston-Salem for everyone by making space for more companies to take root or expand.
Where: 401 North Research Parkway
What Happened:
In July, the iQ purchased the Linden Center, a 190,000-square-foot building on Research Parkway, across the street from Plant 64 in the north district. The building, formerly owned by Wells Fargo, will be renovated into flexible laboratory and biomanufacturing space for life sciences and regenerative medicine companies. The space is being planned intentionally to help startups and scaling businesses with features like subdividable labs and industry-ready infrastructure.
Why It’s Important:
The Linden Center is a big deal for much the same reason that Sparq Labs is. If the growth of Sparq Labs indicates a growth in life science and biotech sectors, the Linden Center provides room for expanding these same types of businesses. With the addition of affordable, scalable biomanufacturing spaces, which have been thin in this region, this facility will help those small-to-mid size businesses in this sector to level-up and grow into their next phase of development. Since the building is, well, already built, it cuts down the time it takes to prep the space to become the needed lab facilities for more biotech and life science companies.
The Linden Center is part of a larger push in the city as a whole. Greater Winston-Salem Inc. recently announced the rollout of the BioNest Fund, which has money earmarked for helping science businesses transition to Winston-Salem when they are too small to qualify for more traditional tax incentives. Efforts like the Linden Center and BioNest fund make Winston-Salem a competitive location to relocate science-type businesses.
“The concentration of science and technology companies in Winston-Salem is incredible, and opportunities like the Linden Center continue to foster innovation in life sciences and biotechnology applications,” says Jason Kaplan, associate vice president of operations for the iQ. “We want to promote the life-changing discoveries that come out of these companies, and we’re intentionally making room for more collaboration and growth.”
Regenerative Medicine Engine in North Carolina
Regenerative medicine is a research field that promises to have incredible breakthroughs that will impact lives worldwide, with discoveries in healing, organ preservation, and other exciting areas. The Regenerative Medicine Engine was created to speed the adoption of those discoveries into products that people can benefit from. These potential new products and therapies not only mean we may all reap the benefits of living healthier and longer lives, but also they may come with bragging rights for Winston-Salem and the Piedmont Triad. Who wouldn’t want to be at the epicenter of this medical revolution?
Located: Richard H. Dean Building
What Happened:
When first funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2024, the Regenerative Medicine Engine was called the Piedmont Triad Regenerative Medicine Engine. Led by Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), the engine’s epicenter is located in the iQ, and it pulls together entities from across the Piedmont Triad to advance the development of regenerative medicine products and discoveries. It went so well the first year that in 2025 the engine’s territory expanded to include resources and entities from across the entire state of North Carolina. While the engine’s core still operates here in the heart of Winston-Salem, it was renamed to Regenerative Medicine Engine to include the expansion.
Why It’s Important:
The expansion of the Regenerative Medicine Engine means that the collaboration can pull from even more partnerships to advance the development of regenerative medicine discoveries. Now, more academic institutions, companies, and supporting industries are part of the engine. The increased number of collaborators puts more firepower behind the first-of-its-kind engine that has the possibility of changing medical care in revolutionary ways.
In addition, creating this base of regenerative medicine research also includes building up the companies who can help manufacture and then market the products that come out of this research. This creates a variety of jobs for workers in manufacturing and support services, which also helps grow the economy of North Carolina.
“The future of medicine is happening here in central North Carolina,” says Tim Bertram, PhD, CEO of the Regenerative Medicine Engine. “We are developing an industrial base founded on regenerative medicine that will span North Carolina and the world, a place where science turns into life-changing technological solutions.”
“More companies moving in means more jobs created and more breakthroughs that change lives,” Bertram continues. “Be part of it–whether you’re an academic innovator, entrepreneur building a business, or an investor. This is where the future begins.”
Phase II Horizontal Infrastructure
As the iQ continues to grow, it will mean the development of new buildings downtown beyond the historic structures redeveloped in Phase I of the iQ. The section up next for development, called Phase II, will not only help grow businesses and create more jobs, but also provide more lifestyle amenities, such as restaurants (maybe even retail), residences, outdoor community spaces, and increase walkability from downtown into the surrounding neighborhoods.
Where: Third Street to Highway 421, north to south, and the railroad tracks to Highway 52, west to east
What Happened:
This year, the iQ wrapped up the horizontal infrastructure for Phase II of the innovation district. Phase II is a 28-acre site with Research Parkway running through the middle of it. This stretch of land will be home to all the new real estate development happening next in the iQ. The completion of the horizontal infrastructure, made possible by a $25 million investment by Advocate Health, means foundational work, such as fiber and electrical conduit, site grading, lighting, and upgraded streetscapes, is finished and structure building can actually begin. This completed work also included an extension of the Long Branch Trail, a greenway that runs through the iQ.
With the transition from horizontal to vertical construction, it’s also a good time to release an updated master plan. These master plans are a treasure trove of particulars about the space, including a potential layout of buildings—and in some cases the names of future occupants, a description of amenities like green spaces and walkways, and other gems of what to expect. The original master plan for Phase II was released to the public in 2021, with the updated version now available in Fall 2025. Read the plan for yourself to discover what the city has to look forward to.
Why It’s Important:
Before buildings can go up vertically, there’s a lot of work that has to be done on the ground. While these things look a lot like moving piles of dirt, they are a requirement for real estate development. Phase II development could more than double the growth of the iQ. As the innovation district expands, it connects more of the city to the activity happening in the iQ.
Furthermore, in developing the infrastructure of Phase II, the iQ was able to meet–and surpass–its goals for minority participation in its selection of contractors and partners to complete the work. This fact is a source of pride for the iQ team, as part of the district’s mission is to create opportunities for all types of communities and individuals, so that the impact of innovation is not exclusive.
“The work done on Phase II to this point has created a foundation for new buildings, new green space, new gathering places,” says Lindsey Schwab, director of community relations for the iQ. “The continued expansion of the iQ means more connections with the Winston-Salem community and more opportunities for partnerships that will help support the growth of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.”
Developments in the iQ beyond 2025
All the developments that have happened in 2025 are just the beginning. They are setting the stage for growth and building excitement for what’s happening in the iQ.
“There’s much momentum in Winston-Salem right now, and the iQ is honored to be a part of that,” Terry Hales says. “We continue to work to make this community better and to explore new opportunities for collaboration and innovation.”
As part of the larger umbrella of Advocate Health, the iQ is a part of a larger group of innovation districts. The developments in the iQ contribute to innovation on a larger scale, and success in this district impacts other districts.
“The Innovation Quarter is helping Winston-Salem thrive as a center of progress and possibility,” said Eugene Woods, CEO of Advocate Health. “Phase II strengthens Advocate Health’s commitment to this community, expanding an ecosystem of 150 partners and creating opportunities that will transform lives through regenerative medicine and biomedical science. This is innovation with purpose—and Winston-Salem is leading the way.
For more information on what is happening in the iQ throughout the year, check out the Updates section of the iQ website. You’ll find stories about tenants, information on the kinds of innovation in the district, and things to check out around the iQ.
