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Clarkson University breaks ground at new Damon Hall Business Incubator in downtown Potsdam

Posted 5/20/16

POTSDAM – Clarkson University broke ground for its new Damon Hall Business Incubator in downtown Potsdam on Monday afternoon. A grant from the NBRC is providing partial support for Clarkson's …

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Clarkson University breaks ground at new Damon Hall Business Incubator in downtown Potsdam

Posted

POTSDAM – Clarkson University broke ground for its new Damon Hall Business Incubator in downtown Potsdam on Monday afternoon.

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.

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.