BioTech Company Coming to Lynn

March 22, 2023 : The Daily Item, Anthony Cammalleri

LYNN — The vacant warehouse on 23 Farrar St. will soon house the smart textile company Soliyarn, a business that is expected to bring 105 jobs to the city over the course of five years.

The city worked to issue the company a $114,521 tax incentive in May, stipulating that Soliyarn work with North Shore Community College and Lynn Tech to create career pipelines between the schools and the tech company.

The new facility, which Economic Development and Industrial Corporation Executive Director Jim Cowdell said is expected to open in the fall, will be split between 60 percent manufacturing and 40 percent lab innovation work.

“This is a home run for Lynn,” Cowdell said. “It brings 105 new high-paying jobs into the city. We need more jobs like this in the city.”

The tax incentive also requires Soliyarn to prioritize hiring Lynn residents and allow labor unions the opportunity to bid on construction work, which is expected to begin this summer.

Soliyarn’s average worker salary is roughly $87,000, Cowdell added.

This week, MassDevelopment gave the Boston-based company a $3.3 million tax-exempt bond to renovate and move into the 18,000-square-foot building on Farrar Street.

23 Farrar St. previously housed the Sterling Machine Company.

Soliyarn was formed in 2018 and is based on an invention by founder and Chief Scientific Officer Trisha Andrew, a University of Massachusetts professor of chemistry. The smart textile firm develops wire-free cloth capable of heating; repelling water; and sensing sweat, heart rate, respiratory function, eye motion, or body movement.

The company’s decision to move to Lynn marks a significant step in the city’s long-term plan to host life sciences companies downtown and on the waterfront. In September, city officials took representatives of biotechnology companies on a trolley tour of six potential development sites around Lynn, encouraging them to set up shop.

“We’re thrilled that Soliyarn is moving forward with opening in Lynn and grateful for MassDevelopment’s support,” Nicholson said. “We are eager to see these jobs come to Lynn and the opportunities they will provide for our residents. We are also excited for what it signifies for Lynn to be able to bring its manufacturing legacy and potential to the innovation economy.”

In a written statement, Soliyarn President and CEO Adrian Beach said the company was excited for its move to Lynn, and thanked the city; Reading Cooperative Bank, who purchased MassDevelopment’s bond; and the Commonwealth for their support.

“The culmination of these efforts in the upcoming Soliyarn facility at 23 Farrar St. really illustrates the concept that it takes a village and we’re all in this together,” Beach said. “We look forward to being contributing partners in this community.