Project funds will be used to 1) Construct an 11,000 square foot building on the pre-graded vacant lot adjacent to the existing SOVA Innovation Hub building at 715 Wilborn Ave., South Boston, VA, and 2) Complete site infrastructure to support environmentally-sustainable practices and agriculture and technology demonstration areas. The new building will include the following key components:
- A Digital Makerspace will host programs by content partners (CodeVA, etc.) to deliver a wide range of educational programs (e.g. computer science, design thinking, etc.) that will be open to the public, with opportunities for all skill levels and ages to support digital transformation, digital content creation, and technical skills development. Digital makerspace programs will support regional economic development through collaborative partnerships (e.g. SOVA Innovation Hub is working with CodeVA to develop computer science programs that will be shared with other hubs.
- Multi-purpose community spaces and coworking offices will meet the dynamic needs of the rural population, ranging from single-person office space for remote workers to temporary or intermittent offices and meeting spaces for students, entrepreneurs, businesses, non-profits, and the general public, as demonstrated by the SOVA Innovation Hub’s existing coworking space, where the offices are at 100% capacity with a waiting list and meeting space demand is rising.
- Outdoor spaces will be infused with technology and small agricultural demonstration areas will be used to highlight precision agriculture techniques and advanced digitization and monitoring and management of crop yields and various digital solutions on how to improve agricultural production in the localities, in partnership with relevant organizations.
Once complete, the project will provide the missing infrastructure needed to grow the regional entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem. The SOVA Innovation Campus is a unique project that will facilitate mass collaboration among regional and state partners and has the potential to become a center of excellence and connection to catalyze transformational economic change across the larger Southern Virginia region.
SOVA Innovation Hub Campus Construction Project
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