Entrepreneurs hoping to launch - or grow - their startups in Reno will soon have a new resource in midtown.
It's called the "InNEVation" Center - kind of a play on words with "innovation" and "Nevada."
The idea is to supply a high-tech meeting space where startups can go to collaborate, make prototypes and learn from each other.
"This is about innovation in Nevada. This is really about home-grown tech, home-grown companies, home-grown startups coming and being launched out of a place like this,” says John Sagebiel, Assistant Director, University of Nevada Environmental Program.
It may not look like much now, but in a few months the building, located near Sinclair Street, will be home to meeting space, workspaces, a 3D printer even a materials lab for building small-scale prototypes.
The University of Nevada is helped along by $500,000 donation by tech company "Switch" which announced earlier this year that it's bringing a massive data center to Northern Nevada.
It's part of the City of Reno and UNR's plan to extend the university's influence further into the downtown and midtown areas.
The center can also give tech-minded students a solid boost into the business world after graduation. "Let's bring them together with the business expertise that already exists in this community, and see if they can really make that viable. Let's help them make that viable."
The renovations are underway now and the new "inNEVation center" is set to open in August.
