HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – Launchpad, a 17,000-square-foot innovation hub, is now open in Downtown Houston, offering startup boot camps and business incubation to support emerging companies.
Launchpad occupies space inside Amegy on Main, a 13-story building at 1801 Main Street at Jefferson Street. The property sits just north of the Pierce Elevated, which is slated for full removal as part of a $7 billion freeway re-routing and downtown redevelopment plan.
“Hundreds of Startups” – Bob Eury
“Downtown Launchpad sits at the intersection of technology and entrepreneurship, where cutting-edge ideas can be rapidly developed and tested,” said Bob Eury, president of Central Houston and the Downtown Redevelopment Authority (DRA), the organization behind Launchpad. “We focused on recruiting and forming partnerships with some of the nation’s leading accelerators and incubators to create an inclusive, vertically integrated ecosystem that brings essential support services within steps of innovators. We’re excited about the positive impact the hundreds of startups that will pass through our doors will create.”
The hub’s resident partners include nationally recognized accelerators MassChallenge and gener8tor, along with the global nonprofit incubator Impact Hub Houston. The Cannon will serve as the site’s operations and community manager. Beyond dedicated space for accelerator and incubator staff and participants, Downtown Launchpad will host idea incubation, entrepreneur boot camps, community events, workforce development programs, innovation labs, creative studios, coworking areas and corporate innovation initiatives. This integrated environment allows entrepreneurs to progress through the stages of startup development in a single, connected location.
Momentum in SoDo (Southern Downtown)
After the DRA approved economic development grants for MassChallenge and gener8tor in 2019, the authority issued a request for proposals to identify a property within Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone #3 to co-locate the accelerators and future tenants.
Central Houston and the DRA selected the Amegy on Main building, which had already begun supporting a growing innovation ecosystem through the establishment of The Cannon Tower, a coworking venture on the building’s 13th floor. The Cannon Tower opened in December 2019, the same month construction began on Downtown Launchpad. Impact Hub Houston joined as the third resident partner for Downtown Launchpad in July 2020.
“The 2017 Plan Downtown emphasizes facilitating the creation of a collaborative Innovation District within downtown,” said Curtis Flowers, board chair of the Downtown Redevelopment Authority.
Downtown Launchpad is located in the emerging neighborhood of SoDo (Southern Downtown). Since 2012, SoDo has added more than 1,700 new residential units, driven in part by the Downtown Living Initiative, a tax-incentive program created by the City of Houston, the DRA and the Downtown District to encourage multifamily residential and mixed-use development. The planned removal of the Pierce Elevated is expected to further enhance residential and commercial momentum by eliminating a longstanding blight that has restrained growth for decades.
*Realty News Report has updated its style: Southern Downtown will be referred to as “SoDo” as of Oct. 5, 2020.
Oct. 5, 2020 Realty News Report Copyright 2020
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