New offices to showcase technologies

Smart Columbus is moving into a new Downtown headquarters with public space to demonstrate new technology and smart cities programs.

After winning the U.S. Smart Cities challenge and $50 million in grant funding in 2016, Smart Columbus set up shop in the Idea Foundry in Franklinton. Now, it plans to spend $1 million to renovate about 7,000 square feet of leased space at 170 Civic Center Drive near Bicentennial Park.

The Idea Foundry “was always a temporary space for us,” said Mark Patton, the Columbus Partnership vice president overseeing Smart Columbus. “Our design was always to have a place where we could do an exhibit space on a more permanent basis.”

Patton said he expects to move into the new space by June, in time for the Columbus Arts Festival, which will be happening just outside the new headquarters’ front door.

The new headquarters will include about 3,000 square feet of public exhibition space, where Smart Columbus can demonstrate new technology and programs it has started.

Smart Columbus has put out a call for companies willing to donate smart transportation technology that can be used in the demonstration area, Patton said.

“We have obviously a limited budget. Within that, we’re hoping to get companies that would like to contribute either equipment or technology that would help us tell the story,” he said.

Smart Columbus also will keep two or three electric vehicles at its new headquarters. Central Ohio residents will be able to test drive those vehicles on a route that runs around Downtown. Vehicle manufacturers and local dealers have provided several electric vehicles on loan to Smart Columbus.

The new space Downtown also will have more people working on Smart Cities, Patton said.

At the Idea Foundry, Smart Columbus has space for about 20 workers from the city of Columbus, Ohio State University, American Electric Power and others. In the new space, Patton said it will have room for 35 to 40 workers.

That will include the company Smart Columbus selects to build its new webbased information system to collect and share data that allow vehicles, roads and streetlights to communicate, he said. A request for proposals was issued in January.

About $200,000 of the $1 million in construction and equipment costs will come from the Paul G. Allen Philanthropies, which provided $10 million as part of the Smart Cities award. The rest will come from Columbus Partnership companies that pledged money to Smart Columbus.

“We have really two broad goals: Certainly the Paul G. Allen folks are interested in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which is related to getting people to adopt electric vehicles,” Patton said. “In addition, we want part of the community to understand what are the initiatives we are doing. We think that’s a far more interesting and broader draw.”