SYRACUSE — The project to expand the CenterState CEO’s Tech Garden is “on track” to begin construction in early 2023. 

The Tech Garden is located at 235 Harrison St. in Syracuse, across South Warren Street from the Marriott Syracuse Downtown, the former Hotel Syracuse.

The project will provide “provide important tools and resources to more startup companies looking to grow in Central New York,” CenterState CEO told CNYBJ in an Aug. 17 statement.

CenterState CEO, located at 115 W. Fayette St. in Syracuse, is the region’s primary economic-development organization and chamber of commerce.

The Tech Garden expansion project will include the renovation of the first-floor lobby, the creation of digital outdoor signage, and the construction of a maker space along Harrison Street, the organization said.

“Façade investments will elevate the building to better reflect the importance of The Tech Garden in the community and align with the transformation that is happening in the surrounding neighborhood,” per the CenterState CEO statement. 

In addition, the project will include a second-floor roof space, a new 200-seat auditorium, and an outdoor UAS deck for continued drone testing and development will “ensure companies have space they need to network, test and grow.”

UAS is short for uncrewed aircraft system. A UAS includes a drone and equipment used to control its flight. A drone is also referred to in the industry as an uncrewed aerial vehicle, or UAV.

Previous New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Nov. 12, 2019 announced the Tech Garden expansion project during a visit to Million Air Hangar near Syracuse Hancock International Airport. He used that same appearance to announce completion of the state-supported, 50-mile drone corridor between Syracuse and Rome. 

The Tech Garden is currently housed in an existing one-story facility. The upcoming expansion will include 46,000 square feet of additional incubation and acceleration space. 

Empire State Development is assisting the expansion project with up to $12.5 million in funding, made available through the CNY Rising Upstate Revitalization Initiative plan.

The project’s total cost of $16.5 million, and the additional $4 million will come from a “variety” of other sources, Elle Hanna, director of communications and media relations at CenterState CEO, told CNYBJ in an email following the original announcement in 2019.

The startup incubator is also home to the Genius NY UAS competition, which is now into its sixth round.

The expanded Tech Garden will serve as the anchor of Syracuse’s City Center Innovation Hub, a “core component” of the Syracuse Surge strategy. It will also be the gateway to the “Innovation Alley” on Warren Street in Syracuse.