Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
The Hub Powered by PNC Bank at the Dayton Arcade officially opened in March of this year.
The innovation hub has about 95,000 square feet of space in multiple buildings in the arcade complex, and its anchor tenants are the Entrepreneurs’ Center and the University of Dayton. The arcade consists of nine interconnected buildings.
The innovation hub’s 72 offices have been occupied since June, which was way ahead of schedule, Koorndyk said.
There’s about 20,000-square feet of private office spaces, which does not include a shared kitchen and conference and common areas.
Koorndyk said the partners are taking a close look at their current floor plan and available space on the third floor of the rotunda building for a potential expansion.
The third floor potentially could house roughly another 30 offices.
“We are examining a variety of pathways to grow our space, but we have not made any decisions yet,” he said.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
Koorndyk said there’s a short waiting list, but encourages interested businesses and entrepreneurs to come tour the spaces.
There’s still co-working space available in the hub, but those memberships are becoming more and more popular, Koorndyk said.
Koorndyk said the Entrepreneurs Center now has 570 business members, which are evenly split between tech and more traditional types of businesses.
About one-third of business members are minorities, he said, and about a quarter are women.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
Scott Murphy, vice president of economic development with the Downtown Dayton Partnership, said it’s incredible that the hub’s private office space is fully leased, considering the challenges businesses have faced during the pandemic.
“It’s an extraordinary achievement,” he said. “We thought it would be popular — it far exceeded expectations in terms of interest.”
The 110 apartments inside the arcade have been fully leased since earlier this month, said Trace Shaughnessy, vice president of McCormack Baron Salazar Inc., which is developing the housing components of the arcade.
Residents started moving into the arcade residential units in the spring, and Shaughnessy said units came online during a four-month period, and construction fully wrapped up late last month.
People once again are living in the complex for the first time in more than four decades.
The arcade’s famous rotunda and theater-in-the-round tank space started hosting events in late spring and early summer.
The arcade’s public spaces have been rented out for weddings and special occasions, such as the Pet Afflaire Gala and a Rubi Girls fundraising event.
Next month, the arcade rotunda will welcome Holly Days, which was a popular holiday festival more than 30 years ago.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will have an artisan gift market, live holiday entertainment and food and drink options.
It will run from 3 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 7, 8 and 9.
Additionally, about 250 students take classes at the hub each day, but that could increase to more than 400 early next year.
UD and Sinclair Community College currently have about 26 classes at the arcade, but that should grow to 33 in the spring.
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