Local biotech and real estate insiders are betting that John Ferchill, who heads the Cleveland-based Ferchill Group, will step in where Madison Acquisition Co. left off to develop a 160,000-square-foot laboratory and office building at the Pittsburgh Technology Center in South Oakland.

Madison's proposal was turned down last week by the Urban Redevelopment Authority because of "insufficient evidence of financing." While the Downtown-based firm still can pursue the project, some people expect Mr. Ferchill, who already has developed a lab-ready building on the site, to make a bid.

In March, Mr. Ferchill told the Post-Gazette that he was awaiting approval from the URA to build a 150,000 square-foot facility on the Technology Center site, because "we're guys that take risks -- we did this before, we'll do it again."

The "before" Mr. Ferchill was referring to was the lab-ready Cellomics building near the Hot Metal Bridge on Technology Drive. The building houses the Life Sciences Greenhouse and the 12 life science firms it incubates. Greenhouse lab space leases for about $30 to $42 per-square-foot, a price tag that some in the local biotech industry said is too steep for an upstart firm.

With Madison likely to bow out of developing the space, Mr. Ferchill could have more than 300,000 square feet to develop, insiders said, and he's shown he'll do it. Mr. Ferchill already has erected the North Side-based Heinz Lofts and is planning to convert the former Nabisco plant to a 250-unit luxury apartment complex.

Neither Mr. Ferchill nor officials at the Urban Redevelopment Authority returned calls for comment.

In the meantime, efforts are under way to find some of the region's fledgling biotech firms the affordable work and lab space they crave.

Alan Seadler, a former biotech company chief who is now Duquesne University's Edward V. Fritzky chair of biotechnology leadership, is busy putting the final touches on a proposal to create a Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) in a three-square-mile stretch that will cover Uptown, parts of the Hill District and touch on the South Side and North Side.

The state-funded KIZ program aims to promote tech-based economic development through grants and tax credits for startup firms settled within the designated area. Dr. Seadler said he hopes to have the KIZ's board members -- some of whom also serve on the Greater Oakland KIZ board -- signed on and the proposal ready to be considered by the July meeting of the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority.

"We think common board members is a key way to keep activities coordinated," Dr. Seadler said.

A major goal of the planned KIZ is tackling the shortage of work space for firms fresh out of the gate. Dr. Seadler said he has identified existing sites in the Uptown area for both incubator and "mezzanine" -- or intermediary -- space, and emphasized that it's for all of the region's tech startups, not just those spawned at Duquesne.

"Our KIZ can provide additional space for companies that come from Pitt and CMU, too," he said. Dr. Seadler wouldn't disclose the exact location of the planned incubator, but said it would be strategically located to "cozy up to the universities" -- and be affordable.

Black Box shares continued to tumble this week, but yesterday showed signs of trying to recover, closing up 82 cents or 2 percent at $40.30.

The Lawrence-based communications network equipment firm's shares began to slide late last week after the company's earnings did not meet Wall Street expectations and the firm said it would restate some of its earnings over a three-year period due to financial misconduct within its Italian operations. This week, Black Box shares slid from more than $44 to as low as $39.

Officials at HyperActive Technologies said the company recently added two new board members: Hala Moddelmog, the former president of Church's Chicken and first woman to serve in that role, and Russ Umphenour, who was chief executive officer of Mrs. Winner's Chicken & Biscuits, a chain located in the Southeast, before it was sold this month.

Honorary Consul for Canada in Western Pennsylvania Roger Cranville, who moonlights as a senior vice president at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, will lead a delegation of about a dozen members of Pittsburgh's life sciences community to visit their counterparts in Toronto.

The team will visit the Medical and Related Sciences Centre and other life science-focused groups in Toronto's Discovery District. Their goal is to brainstorm on bringing research from the laboratory into the marketplace, economic development strategies and venture capital opportunities.

Mr. Cranville said the Pittsburgh delegation wants to share ideas and learn from their colleagues in Toronto to unify "the people and organizations in this area involved in life sciences."

Toronto's Discovery District comprises two square kilometers in the center of downtown Toronto.