ITHACA, NY – A major step has been taken in what will hopefully bring a new space to Collegetown for Cornell students, faculty and staff with entrepreneurial spirits.
[do_widget id= text-55 ]
Student Agencies Inc. has secured a $3 million construction loan from Tompkins Trust Company for a major renovation of its building at 409 College Avenue. Although details about the project itself are a bit scarce in the paperwork filed on the 18th, it is likely the eHub entrepreneurial space being built for Cornell students, faculty and staff.
The eHub space will include space for PopShop (a space for student business planning and development), the eLab business incubator, conference space, mentors-in-residence, and basically all the physical space and things a budding businessperson would like to help them succeed.
According to a previous write-up by the Cornell Chronicle, the lab should be open later this Spring, with 10,000 square feet on the second and third floors of 409 College Avenue, and 4,000 square feet of space in Kennedy Hall on the Ag Quad. STREAM Collaborative of Ithaca will be the interior architect for 409 College, and Ithaca-based Morse Project Management LLC is the general contractor.
Now, this could be a great thing for Ithaca, because it leverages Cornell’s presence to foster business development. Sort of like a Cornell-centric Rev.
And Rev, for what it’s worth, has had several successful associated firms in the past couple of years – Ursa Space Systems was named a STARTUP-NY partner and will be hiring 22 people, and Ithaca Hummus is looking at hiring 50 over the next five years.
Even the Ithaca Voice grew from what was basically a one-person operation when it launched in June 2014, to having several full-time staff.
Anything that allows Ithaca to grow and diversify its economy is a great thing, and if it can utilize Cornell’s presence to help that cause, all the better.
[do_widget id= text-61 ]