SYRACUSE — After a lot of planning, a $32 million expansion project at the Tech Garden in Syracuse is well underway. It’s expected that crews from Hueber-Breuer Construction Co., Inc. will complete the work in about 14 months. Empire State Development (ESD) is providing up to $16.6 million for the project, the office of Gov. […]
SYRACUSE — After a lot of planning, a $32 million expansion project at the Tech Garden in Syracuse is well underway.
It’s expected that crews from Hueber-Breuer Construction Co., Inc. will complete the work in about 14 months. Empire State Development (ESD) is providing up to $16.6 million for the project, the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a news release about the project.
CenterState CEO on Aug. 9 hosted a groundbreaking event for the project on the Tech Garden patio at 235 Harrison St. in Syracuse, across from the Marriott Syracuse Downtown.
The expansion will include a two-story, 46,000-square-foot addition; renovations to the facility’s existing space; and updates to the on-site mechanical and security systems.
Robert Simpson, president and CEO of CenterState CEO, called it an “incredibly exciting moment” for the organization.
“We have been working towards this vision of expanding this facility for our entrepreneurs for the better part of six, almost seven years now,” Simpson said in his remarks at the groundbreaking. “We would not be here today were it not for the incredible support of our partners in business.”
Besides Hueber-Breuer, those partners also include QPK Design of Syracuse, which handled the design work, and Eli Smith of E. Smith Contractors of Syracuse.
The expansion effort includes a 5,000-square-foot roof terrace for uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) companies to launch and test drones, a 3,000-square-foot meeting room with seating for up to 180, private tenant offices for 35 additional resident startups, coworking areas, an expanded hardware space for prototype and product development, and a new entrance, Hochul’s office said.
The Tech Garden is home to the New York State–supported Genius NY competition.
A state-certified Innovation Hot Spot, the Tech Garden is the “key” tech business incubator for the Central New York region, per Hochul’s office. In 2022, 114 companies were served by one of CenterState CEO’s technical-assistance programs.
These teams employed 409 people, created 113 jobs, generated $70.7 million in total revenue and half were minority, woman, veteran, and/or disabled-owned businesses.
In his remarks, Simpson touched on the Tech Garden’s history.
“This building behind us was a collapsed parking garage, and over the course of the last 15 years, it has grown billion-dollar companies. That’s remarkable,” he said.
In that time period, he noted that companies in the Tech Garden have created more than 1,300 jobs and raised almost $350 million in follow-on capital.
“And those are dollars that have been raised mostly from venture capital … [out of-town investors] that are being put to work right here in Central New York,” Simpson said, to applause from those gathered at the event.
“This $32 million investment will completely transform the southwest gateway of downtown [Syracuse], creating a vibrant, exciting space for innovative companies to call home,” Dan Kolinski, ESD’s acting regional director of the Central New York region, said in his remarks at the groundbreaking event. “This building and its entirely new façade will better reflect the world class innovation ecosystem supported inside by CenterState CEO and further reinforces Gov. Hochul’s commitment to investing in the future of upstate New York’s flourishing high-tech economy.”
Kolinski went on to say, “This project will allow them to continue those focused efforts to lead the charge in the growth of advanced incubation and acceleration services, helping to make upstate New York the next major hub for innovative, high tech, 21st century businesses. The expanded facility will also serve as the anchor of Syracuse’s city center innovation hub, a core component of the Syracuse Surge economic development strategy and will serve as a gateway to innovation alley right here on Warren Street.”
Simpson also told the gathering that the Tech Garden expansion has been “one of the hardest projects that we’ve ever worked on,” citing the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising cost of construction materials. At the same time, he also acknowledged that the Tech Garden has deep personal meaning as well.
“It’s really been … one of the most rewarding parts of my job over my career to watch the evolution of the innovation ecosystem,” Simpson said.