Developers of lab space for biotech startups are moving ahead with a downtown Baltimore project that aims to create more than 100 jobs over the next four years.

City officials last week approved a $200,000 convertible loan for operators of 4MLK Connect Labs, which will offer 35,000-square-feet of flex lab space for early stage biotech and life sciences companies in the University of Maryland BioPark’s newest building.

The city loan and a $2 million loan from the state Department of Commerce will cover the purchase of specialized lab equipment and be tied to performance and job creation goals.

The lab operator and borrower is a joint venture of an affiliate of Wexford Science & Technology, the building’s developer, and a subsidiary of Ventas.

Such projects are critical for the state to attract life sciences companies and remain competitive in the sector, said Maryland Commerce Secretary Kevin Anderson.

“We have tremendous innovation coming from our universities and our private sector and this new space will help those ideas to grow from the lab to the marketplace,” Anderson said in an announcement of the project.

The lab developer expects to attract emerging companies in the life sciences, computational, engineering and energy industries with at least 100 full-time employees by the end of 2028.

If the job and other goals are met, all outstanding deferred principal and accrued interest will be forgiven on the city loan, which was approved last week by the city Board of Estimates through the Baltimore Development Corp.

Colin Tarbert, BDC president and chief executive officer, said state-of-the-art lab space can help build the city’s life sciences ecosystem and attract national attention. It’s part of a joint city/state effort to spur economic growth, generate tax revenue and build the region as a hub for scientific and technological advancement.

The lab will open in 4MLK, a newly constructed eight-story building at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Baltimore Street developed by Wexford Science + Technology.

Boosters of the project say the building was designed to provide much-needed wet laboratory space for researchers and companies and foster collaboration between the University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Maryland Medical Center.

The flex lab space will be subleased to a developer-formed joint venture to operate, manage, staff and sub-lease to early stage companies.

The 14-acre park, located on the west side of the university’s campus, is expected to include nearly 2 million square feet of lab and office space in a dozen buildings at full build-out.

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