Draper Broke Ground on New Lowell Microelectronics Center

The 111,000-square-foot facility in the Hamilton Canal District will focus on domestic chip packaging and design.

Updated on Oct. 6, 2026 in Semiconductors

Interior of an industrial facility with brick walls and clean silicon wafer manufacturing equipment, illuminated by morning sunlight. — Draper held a groundbreaking ceremony for its $105 million IMPACT Center in Lowell, a project intended to expand domestic microelectronics packaging and national security capacity. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Non-profit research firm Draper held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new $105 million IMPACT Center in Lowell. The facility aims to bolster domestic microelectronics capabilities and address the fact that only 3 percent of chip packaging occurs within the United States.

Why it matters

The center intends to secure domestic design and manufacturing of microelectronics for national security purposes. By expanding local capacity, the project hopes to reduce dependence on foreign chip packaging operations.

The new IMPACT Center will occupy 111,000 square feet in the Hamilton Canal District. It is designed to handle specialized microelectronics design, assembly, packaging, testing, and manufacturing.

The players

Draper

Draper is a non-profit research and manufacturing company headquartered in Cambridge that specializes in complex engineering solutions.

Wexford

Wexford is a development firm responsible for the construction of the microelectronics facility within the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor.

The details

Wexford is constructing the facility as part of the broader Lowell Innovation Network Corridor project, which is expected to generate $3.7 billion in economic activity over the next decade. The project will create an estimated 1,300 construction jobs and 2,000 permanent positions for the region.

The Lowell Innovation Network Corridor project was first announced in March 2024.
The CHIPS Act was passed by federal lawmakers in July 2022.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the center occurred on October 6, 2026.
The IMPACT Center is currently slated to open in 2028.

The Tech Race

This facility represents a shift toward re-industrializing the domestic semiconductor sector to counter global reliance on overseas manufacturing. It positions the region as a critical hub in the broader U.S. effort to rebuild chip assembly capabilities abandoned during the previous decades of offshoring.

Residents may see significant long-term economic benefits, including the creation of 2,000 permanent jobs and potential new tax revenue for the city. The increased local activity is expected to drive further development within the Hamilton Canal District.

The takeaway

This groundbreaking highlights a strategic push to restore domestic manufacturing for critical electronic components. Regional investment in high-tech infrastructure remains a key driver for long-term economic growth in industrial hubs.