From Bananas to $7.6B in Annual Economic Impact, Here are 20 Things You Should Know About uCity Square’s 3675 Market

Listicles are a few of our favorite things. So it was a no brainer to buzz with Sarajane Blair, General Manager, CIC Labs + Innovation Campus Philadelphia, and Kristen Fitch, Senior Director of Marketing, University City Science Center, about a few of their favorite facts inside of 3675 Market Street.

By Cat Thoreson | February 22, 2024

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Places are more than just geographical coordinates on a map; they possess a character, a soul, and a unique identity that is as rich and diverse as the people who inhabit them.

Philadelphia’s Navy Yard District is proof of that. And so is 3675 Market. 

Located within a Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) in the heart of uCity Square, 3675 Market sits at the intersection of world-class universities, research institutions, academic medical centers, and dynamic neighborhoods. 

The 16th building within the uCity Square campus, 3675 Market opened its doors in 2018. Developed by the Science Center, Wexford Science + Technology, and Ventas, it’s the tallest commercial life science/science/biotech/research building in Philadelphia at 14 stories. 

Managed by the Science Center and Wexford Science + Technology, who are also tenants of, 3675 Market is home to CIC Philadelphia, Amicus Therapeutics, Century Therapeutics, Carsima Therapeutics, Drexel CCI, along with many, many more.

As soon as you walk through its doors, a profound sense of awe, and a palpable sense of excitement envelop you. And how couldn’t it?! The lobby is bustling with a vibrant ecosystem of entrepreneurs, scientists, venture capitalists, and innovators from all backgrounds. Vibrant colors shout from nearly every corner. But they don’t knock you down, they boldly embrace you and invite you in to further explore the creativity and innovation that lies within.

If you haven’t visited 3675 Market, you need to. And regardless of whether you have or will, here are 20 things that you should definitely know about [or that are, at the very least, fun to buzz about] some of the tenants and happenings within 3675 Market.

A Turnkey Solution – CIC Philadelphia

Founded in 1999, Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) manages more than 1.2M square feet of workspace, laboratories, and event space across North America, Europe, and Asia with locations in Boston, Cambridge, Providence, St. Louis, Rotterdam, Warsaw, Tokyo, and, of course, Philadelphia.

CIC Philadelphia

Located within 3675 Market, CIC Philadelphia boasts 140,000 SQFT, with 90,000 SQFT of Wet Labs spaces, and 5,000 SQFT of shared function rooms equipped with over $3M in top of the line equipment. Through partnerships with industry-leading lab equipment manufacturers, like Thermo Fisher Scientific, Eppendorf, and Miltenyi Biotech, CIC is able to offer a turnkey lab and office space that provides all of the necessary resources for companies to work, grow, and innovate. 

Five Fun CIC Facts 

1. Six (6) floors of awesomeness. 

When they say “Let’s meet in Mt. Airy,” they don’t mean the neighborhood in NW Philadelphia. Each of CIC’s six vibrant floors have a theme:

• Floor 2 – Philadelphia Neighborhoods & Landmarks
• Floor 3 – PA bodies of water
• Floor 4 – University City Science Center Floor!
• Floor 5 – Minerals
• Floor 6 – Plants
• Floor 7 –  Cities in the greater PA/ NJ area
• Floor 8 – Astronomy 

2. CIC Philadelphia is home to 115+ current clients including Carisma Therapeutics, Cabaletta Bio, and CytoEX. 

3. 240+ new jobs have been created by CIC Philadelphia’s life sciences clients.

4. CIC Philadelphia’s life sciences tenants have raised over $1.6+B in venture capital.

5. 65+ patents have been awarded to CIC Philadelphia’s life sciences tenants.

Five More [Really] Fun [and Really Random] CIC Facts 

6. CIC receives around 3,000 bunches of bananas a year (and clients consume almost that many).

7. In 2023, the CIC Community Team listened to Tubthumping by Chumawamba 11,545 (as recorded by Spotify!). I mean… how amazing is that?!

8. CIC Philadelphia processed approximately 38,000 pounds of biohazardous waste for their clients last year (2023) which is basically the equivalent of an average commercial jet.

9. CIC members have access to 55 conference rooms (holy cow!) along with one (1) “Secret Free Library” … I’m going to have to stop right there though. You have to visit to learn more.

10. Over 320 plants have found client homes through CIC’s quarterly “Plant Parties.”

Filling Startup Ecosystem Gaps – University City Science Center 

Established in 1963 as the country’s first urban research park, the Science Center has spent the last 60 years filling gaps in the startup ecosystem. As those gaps have changed, so too has this non-profit. 

Today, the Science Center operates at the intersection of startups, life science and healthcare, and community to drive inclusive economic growth. The organization continues to fill ecosystem gaps through programs that help big ideas become thriving businesses and nurture a diverse STEM workforce. 

Five Fun Science Center Facts

11. In 1973 R. Buckminster Fuller, inventor of the geodesic dome, joined the Science Center as World Fellow in Residence. The futurist and author who inspired the space of Disney’s Epcot Center, was honored in the Science Center’s inaugural class of the Innovators Walk of Fame in 2014.

12. The Science Center has supported 700+ companies, 200+ of which remain in Greater Philadelphia.

13. In Greater Philadelphia alone, Science Center-supported companies account for $7.6B in annual economic impact. And yes, that is a “B.”

14. A mountain of impact. 29,100 full-time equivalent jobs are supported by the Science Center. If each job was represented by a foot (12 inches), it would be taller than Mt. Everest, the highest mountain in the world, which reaches an elevation of 29,032 feet.

15. The average salary at Science Center-supported companies is $105,000, 83% above the median annual wage in the region.

Five (5) Other Things You Should Know About the Science Center

16. They, like BioBuzz, believe that “diverse companies and a diverse workforce are essential to performance and impact.” Of the 100+ businesses they supported through their commercialization programs last year, 52% were run by foreign-born founders, 45% were minority founders, and 39% were female-founded. 

17. The Science Center is home to FirstHand, a STEM education program that has served over 3,950 students (80% of which are living in or attending school in a West Philadelphia Promise Zone), has accounted for 34,000 youth impact hours, and has engaged over 230 STEM mentors and 78 companies.

Located on the 5th floor of 3675 Market and embedded within the bustling activity of CIC Labs, FirstHand’s 5,000 SQFT space welcomes hundreds of middle and high school students into the lab every year for multi-week, industry-informed curricula designed to open their eyes to the vast array of career opportunities in STEM fields. 

18. The Science Center [and 3675 Market Street] is also home to Venture Café Philadelphia, which celebrated its 5th anniversary in November. Their Thursday Gatherings are free, open to the public, and create an opportunity for entrepreneurs, business leaders, and the innovation-curious to convene around engaging content with its celebrity bartenders, fireside chats with thought leaders, panel discussions, and more. Check out their upcoming schedule.

19. Quorum Lounge. We [really] don’t need to say much more. It’s free, it’s open to the public, and you never know who you’ll run into. The Science Center’s Quorum Lounge is like a living room for the uCity Square community and beyond. The 5,000 SQFT space on the ground floor of 3675 regularly serves as touchdown space for students, professionals, and entrepreneurs alike. 

20. And last, but certainly not least, on the second floor of the Science Center’s Quorum event space you’ll find a large-scale painting worth seeking out. Painted by the late Edith Neff, this masterwork of Philadelphia Realism captures a summer afternoon in a West Philly neighborhood. Commissioned by the Science Center in 1972 as part of Philadelphia’s Percent for Art program, the triptych is the largest painting Edith Neff ever created, spanning 30 feet when hung together.