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Montgomery, Ala., to Welcome City’s Third Innovation Center

The Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce has announced it plans to open a third downtown technology innovation center that will serve as a multipurpose center for co-working, training and entrepreneurship.

montgomery, al
(TNS) — The Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce has announced it plans to open a third downtown technology innovation center that will serve as a multipurpose center for co-working, training and entrepreneurship.

The Lab on Dexter will open its doors Aug. 30 inside a former bank building at 150 Dexter Ave. The building will serve as the new home of Montgomery TechLab, which is moving from its current space inside the MGMWerx building on Commerce Street. But it will also be the home of a range of functions meant to help grow small businesses, tech-focused and otherwise, including business suites and work spaces for lease.

That separates it from the other two tech centers, the Air University-affiliated MGMWerx and the Gunter-affiliated Bespin hub nearby on Commerce Street.

"This piece is more of an entrepreneurial Chamber lab," Chamber President Anna Buckalew said.

It's launching through a public-private partnership that includes the Chamber's TechMGM initiative, the city and county governments, Alabama Power and the TechLab. They expect it to house programs that will give tech and innovation professionals and entrepreneurs access to resources, networking opportunities, capital and equipment.

They're planning quarterly workshops, mentoring and other initiatives, and Buckalew said there will be an effort to incorporate programming specifically for Black-owned small businesses. "That's a need that's been expressed to us," she said.

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said in a release that the center will help match the area's unique assets with the needs of tech companies and small and minority business startups. Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton Dean praised the public-private partnership that brought it together and said it will be "a cornerstone" of downtown's growing innovation district.

A public grand opening is set for 11 a.m. Aug. 30. You can see more about the space at thelabondexter.com.

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