Bloomington tech center to be named ‘The Forge’
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Bloomington not-for-profit business accelerator The Mill has announced that the city’s new tech center will be named “The Forge,” paying homage to manufacturing and the collaboration to be had there.
The facility is currently under construction after ground was broken in October.
“In its modern context, the name signifies the cultivation of relationships within the realms of commerce, whether between businesses and enterprises, commerce and education and/or technology and production,” Executive Director Pat East said in his monthly newsletter Thursday.
The three-story, Class A office space in the southeast corner of the city’s Trades District is heralded as a critical part of The Mill’s vision for the district and area. The tech center will be both a space accommodating to startups and a coworking space for remote workers. East said it’s an office space the city doesn’t have elsewhere.
Leaders also hope it serves as a landmark on the 84-mile corridor that runs from Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division to Indianapolis. The federal Economic Development Administration estimates the project will create 530 jobs and generate $51 million in private investment.
The Mill is leading the effort to build the city’s Trades District, which it says has been updated with new green branding. The Trades District Advisory Board, which is comprised of local business stakeholders, recommended the refresh.
The tech center is planned to open in January 2025 with a goal of 50% occupancy achieved that year.
Other development is moving along in the tech park. The Mill said a boutique hotel project has two groups interested in the project, and a mixed-use housing development is interested in another lot.