After receiving more than $7 million in federal funding in 2019, the Tampa Bay Innovation Center is now asking private entities for an extra $3.5 million to help reach its 2023 completion.
The Tampa Bay Innovation Center will be a business incubator, accelerator and coworking entrepreneurial center in St. Petersburg, nestled on more than 2.5 acres donated by the city. The project kicked off with a $7.5 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, one of the largest EDA grants in the state. The federal money was given in conjunction with $4.5 million from Pinellas County.
The additional $3.5 million is intended to cover $2 million in rising costs and $1.5 million in furnishings, equipment and fixtures for the 45,000-square-foot space.
The private funds can be given through donations, or entities could get naming rights and sponsorship opportunities. Organizations can also lease space in the new building. The space will include a digital fabrication lab with 3D printers and laser cutters, a wellness room, podcast studios, a cafe and 10,000-square-foot space for corporate innovation partners.
The innovation center, despite not having a physical building, is still doing work to help local entrepreneurs in the area. It is educating its latest cohort, which has five companies and differentiates itself by aiming to have companies completely ready for market by the time the program is complete.
“A state-of-the-art innovation center is key to Pinellas County and the region is growing and solidifying the local entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Tonya Elmore, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center, said in a statement. “It will not only continue to establish Pinellas County and the region as a center for technology and innovation but drive investment dollars and create hundreds of jobs.”
The project is set to place a bid for a general contractor in July and break ground later that month, with an estimated completion date of July 2023.
According to the center's projections, once the building is complete it could create roughly 228 new jobs and have a $28 million in economic impact by 2026. The projections also state it could sustain 1,265 direct and indirect jobs.
“It is exciting that our partners have made such a substantial financial investment in the small businesses and growing companies that create high-wage jobs in our community,” Chris Paradies, chairman of the Tampa Bay Innovation Center, said in a statement. "We look forward to working with the private sector to take this project over the finish line."
