Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is providing business services for a new technology hub in New Haven, CT. Comcast, CTNext, District Innovation and Venture Center, and Elm City Innovation Collaborative have committed to combine their resources and expertise to create a connected and collaborative destination, within the District New Haven campus, that integrates public space, education in advanced technology and the wider New Haven community.
Comcast has committed nearly $700,000 of cash and in-kind services toward the center. Through the Innovation Places program, CTNext and Elm City Innovation Collaborative have awarded the project a grant totaling $850,000 over the next five years.
District New Haven is a 106,000-square-foot mixed-use development at the former Department of Transportation building. The 9-acre site was a remediated brownfield that has been transformed into a technology hub and innovation campus with coworking spaces, office spaces ranging from 1,000-25,000 square feet, a media studio, a restaurant and beer garden, an athletic club, an outdoor amphitheater, and a kayak and paddleboard launch.
Comcast is providing the Innovation Center with a multi-gigabit Internet connection, including deployment of Comcast Business VoiceEdge, a hosted cloud-based telephone system; Comcast Business video service, including X1 for business; and Xfinity WiFi, which will be deployed throughout the District New Haven campus. Additionally, Comcast will work with the District to produce and run public service announcements to promote the campus and its events.
"Comcast is pleased to make this commitment with our partners and provide resources for the betterment of the workforce and workplace in New Haven. We believe our technology will play a critical role in helping District New Haven reach its innovation goals, while our investment will help develop the community for the digital economy," said Paul Savas, vice president of Comcast Business in Comcast's Western New England Region, which is headquartered in Connecticut.
"This is exactly the type of public-private partnership that we believe will fuel the growth of the knowledge-based economy in our state," said Glendowlyn Thames, executive director of CTNext. "The District has the ability to assemble a community of entrepreneurs and companies that will inspire new and innovative thinking and spur the growth of companies and jobs in the city and the region."