NBRC Assists NY Incubator Project
Clarkson University Breaks Ground on Downtown Potsdam Business Incubator
Clarkson University broke ground for its new Damon Hall Business Incubator in downtown Potsdam on Monday afternoon.
Officials, including Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) Federal Co-Chair Mark Scarano, New York Deputy Secretary of State for Local Government Dierdre "Dede" Scozzafava, Clarkson University President Tony Collins and LC Drives CEO Russ Marvin, gathered for the ceremony.
A grant from the NBRC is providing partial support for Clarkson's Shipley Center for Innovation to renovate the 67 Main St. building into premium support and business incubator manufacturing space.
Damon Hall is being renovated into a safe, conveniently-situated manufacturing, support and storage option for the startup businesses in Clarkson's Peyton Hall Business Incubator, next door.
LC Drives will be the first tenant of the new incubator, which will focus predominantly on manufacturing space. The company designs and manufactures ultra-efficient electric motors and generators for a variety of markets that include wind energy companies, oil and gas drilling businesses, and underwater use. It is among those companies already located in Peyton Hall.
The 6,000-square-foot Damon project, created through NBRC funding, will include asbestos removal, installation of a fire alarm system, roof repairs, window/door repairs, interior architectural repairs, installation of a heating system and installation of lighting.
This project aligns with the NBRC’s focus on business and workforce development, as it focuses on the creation of new businesses and the retention/expansion of existing businesses in a dedicated incubator space.
In future phases of its Downtown Campus Revitalization Project, Clarkson envisions a premium mixed-use space that will house additional incubator businesses, as well the option of a food storage component (a stumbling block for many local food producers). This project is an opportunity to turn an unused building -- vacant for more than 20 years -- into a usable, thriving space with the potential to impact even more businesses and supporting services on a greater scale.
The NBRC is a growing federal-state partnership program that provides grants to innovative, job-creating projects in northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Created by Congress in 2008, its mission is to help alleviate economic distress and encourage job creation throughout the northern regions of these states.
Clarkson University educates the leaders of the global economy. One in five alumni already leads as an owner, CEO, VP or equivalent senior executive of a company. With its main campus located in Potsdam, N.Y., and additional graduate program and research facilities in the Capital Region and Beacon, New York, Clarkson is a nationally recognized research university with signature areas of academic excellence and research directed toward the world's pressing issues. Through more than 50 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, arts, education, sciences and the health professions, the entire learning-living community spans boundaries across disciplines, nations and cultures to build powers of observation, challenge the status quo, and connect discovery and innovation with enterprise.
Photo caption: Northern Border Regional Commission Federal Co-Chair Mark Scarano, New York Deputy Secretary of State for Local Government Dierdre "Dede" Scozzafava, Clarkson University President Tony Collins and LC Drives CEO Russ Marvin break ground on Clarkson's new Damon Hall Business Incubator.
[A photograph for media use is available at http://www.clarkson.edu/news/photos/damon-groundbreaking-2016.jpg .]
[News directors and editors: For more information, contact Michael P. Griffin, director of News & Digital Content Services, at 315-268-6716 or mgriffin@clarkson.edu.]