Rensselaer County is investing $8 million in a new tech incubator in downtown Troy that, in the long-term, is meant to boost the county’s economy.
The Bridge will be housed on the top floor of the Quackenbush Building. It’s meant to support efforts to breathe life into downtown and take advantage of regional investments in innovators and entrepreneurs looking to grow tech start-ups.
Speaking at the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center Friday, Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin, a Republican, says it builds on other regional investments like University at Albany’s Nanotech Institute, Amazon warehouse facilities, and General Electric.
“You're planting a seed here, and then hopefully by 10 years down the line, you have a business that was launched right here, and suddenly it's employing a few 100 people. Those few 100 people, maybe 1,000 people,” McLaughlin said. “They're out there buying groceries and buying houses, buying cars and putting their kids in school. It's all good for this, for this economy.”
RPI President Martin Schmidt says once completed, the space will complement other start-ups. Also in the Broadway building are the New York State Technology Enterprise Corporation’s IgniteU and Tech Valley Center of Gravity.
“This will fill a critical gap for the region in the growth of because of this ecosystem, tough tech startups are capital intensive. They're businesses that are capital intensive to start and grow, and they tend to be focused in sectors like manufacturing, biotechnology and energy,” Schmidt said. “Now the good thing about these types of startups is they're sticky. That is, once they begin to grow in this region, they tend to stay in the region, because that's where the workforce is. That's where the physical assets are for them to grow. So, if you can grow them here, they're going to stay.”
Schmidt says the 13,000-square-foot makerspace will be available to the public with the option to use technology at RPI or nearby Hudson Valley Community College.
McLaughlin says $4 million will be used to renovate the building and the other half will be used to support operating costs over five years.
Schmidt adds the university will develop a network of advisors and mentors to support the startups and build relationships with investors.
It comes at a time when federal funding for research and development is under threat by the Trump administration. Schmidt says it could be a serious issue for research institutes nationwide.
“If there's a reduction in federal support for basic research, obviously that impacts the number of students we can train in cutting edge areas, the number of faculty we're going to have working on those. All those things all have pretty serious impact,” Schmidt said. “There's also been concerns about indirect costs and how those are covered, and I would say we need to do a better job educating people on what that really means. But basically, those are things that keep the lights on, keep the buildings maintained, take the trash out, make sure there's a library where researchers can work, and so those are a really valuable part of the research enterprise.”
Schmidt says RPI created the nation’s first university-led incubator in 1979 and The Bridge builds on those efforts.
Officials say construction will begin soon but no date has been set for completion.
