Draper Breaks Ground On 111,000-Square-Foot Lowell Chip Plant

Draper broke ground on October 6, 2026, on a microelectronics plant in Lowell that the nonprofit research and manufacturing company says will add more than 100 skilled positions, according to an announcement distributed by PR Newswire.

The 111,000-square-foot facility, to be called the IMPACT Center, will handle chip design, production and packaging. Draper said the new roles will range from technicians to engineers with advanced degrees to business executives. The company expects the building to open in 2029, with work geared toward small-batch, varied production runs covering microelectronics as well as precision navigation and timing equipment.

State and local money is helping pay for construction under an agreement with the city, part of an effort to build up the defense industry in Massachusetts. The site sits in the Hamilton Canal Innovation District and is tied to the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor, a research and workforce district linking the UMass Lowell campus with downtown. Draper is already an anchor tenant there.

Colleen Anderson, a Draper program director for electronic systems, said just 3 percent of chip packaging now happens in the United States.

Wexford Science & Technology is developing the project with GMH Communities and First Atlantic; Shawmut Design and Construction and Burns & McDonnell are also involved. Gov. Maura Healey and U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan attended the ceremony. Draper employs more than 2,800 people across 12 sites.

This story was first reported by PR Newswire.