York College debuts Knowledge Park

York College of Pennsylvania has unveiled Knowledge Park as part of its campus. 

YCP leaders were joined recently by WellSpan Health, Warfel Construction, JDB Engineering, MANTEC, and MRG Labs to take part in a ribbon cutting ceremony to open the facility. 

“This moment marks not just the completion of a challenging and transformational capital project, but the beginning of a new era for our college, our students, and the York community,” York College President Thomas Burns said in a statement. 

YCP worked with Warfel Construction to transform a historic, 1800s warehouse that used to be Schmidt & Ault Paper Company into a facility that will house business partners in the York area. 

“We are deeply grateful to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, whose investment and belief in the power education and innovation have in stimulating economic development helped make this vision a reality,” said Burns. 

Construction began in May 2022. 

“Understanding the unique aspects and needs when it comes to education, design, and construction helps us provide exemplary spaces for these special audiences. Amazing environments lead to life with collaboration, confidence, and growth,” Colleen Lynn, director of Business Development with Warfel Construction, said. 

WellSpan will be moving a production studio into Knowledge Park. The space will feature top-rated space and equipment for videos, podcasts, photoshoots and more within this new, vibrant setting. 

“The studio will be a center for creativity and learning, where we’ll work alongside York College’s talented communications and marketing students on a variety of project-based learning initiatives,” Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff of WellSpan Health Cindy Fruitrail said. “Together, we’ll provide real-world experiences in producing meaningful, impactful content—skills that are essential in today’s digital landscape,”  

WellSpan’s space at Knowledge Park is available as a resource for community organizations, businesses and nonprofits to create their own content and foster innovation and collaboration. Knowledge Park has space available for additional tenants, and various floors are fully equipped and adaptable to transformation, per a release.

Dataforma, a longtime tenant of York College’s JD Brown Center incubator, will move into Knowledge Park. 

MRG Labs is a Knowledge Park partner involved in a Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development-funded research program that develops solutions in automation and robotics. 

“To me, Knowledge Park represents the future—where students, faculty, and industry leaders collaborate to solve real-world problems,” said Andrew Mott, who worked with MRG Labs as a co-op on that program. “For students like myself, this is more than just an academic exercise, it’s an opportunity to make an impact on meaningful projects, to collaborate and build relationships with York’s businesses, and to simply be a part of something bigger than ourselves.”