Dublin to open TechDEC in 2012

Announcements — By Melanie McIntyre on December 20, 2011 at 8:00 am

A technology-focused entrepreneurial center is coming to 565 Metro Place South in Dublin.

Dublin City Council last week passed a resolution authorizing the Dublin Deputy City Manager and Economic Development Director Dana McDaniel to execute a lease agreement to establish the TechDEC. The total cost of the lease for 1,000 square feet of training space immediately adjacent to a new data center is $25,000.

Through the city’s experience at the Dublin Entrepreneurial Center, officials have learned that startup companies, specifically information technology startups, want immediate access to a data center and the ability to house servers, store data, and access interconnect points.

“We determined this by request of our own companies, as well as those expressing interest in locating to the DEC,” says McDaniel.

The city explored the possibility of establishing a data center within or next to the existing DEC at 7003 Post Rd., but quickly found that to be cost prohibitive. Metro Data Center LLC is taking over an existing high-level data center and offered Dublin the opportunity to establish an entrepreneurial center there.

“Combining an entrepreneurial center and data center will be a unique first in Central Ohio, and will respond to the needs of startup and established businesses alike,” McDaniel says. “This combination will further promote the development of information technology companies through additional training, networking and coaching opportunities, while having access to a state-of-the-art data center right next door.”

Metro Data Center also agreed to make an adjacent 30,000 square feet available for IT-oriented companies and service organizations.

“Gen Y works differently today,” says Metro Data Center Chairman and CEO Niles Overly. “They thrive on collaboration. We are creating a community that will bring IT entrepreneurs together.”

The TechDEC will house 30 to 60 tenants, depending on how much space new business partners take, says Chaz Freutel, who has been recruited by city officials to manage it. (Freutel, owner of Get-U-Connected, has managed the DEC since it opened in 2009.)

“We already have two offices committed and proposals out to another nine,” he adds.

The TechDEC is still accepting lease commitments and Freutel anticipates occupation on Feb. 1, 2012.

Companies interested in leasing space at the TechDEC should contact Chaz Freutel at 614-827-1153 or at chaz@get-u-connected.com.

Author Bio: Melanie McIntyre:
Melanie McIntyre is The Metropreneur’s Editorial Director. Upon earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism from The Ohio State University in 2004, she became a staff writer for a business and legal newspaper in Columbus. During her tenure there, she wrote more than 500 stories about finance and real estate and development in Central Ohio. Since leaving the paper in 2008, Melanie has worked on a freelance basis for several local entities, including Columbus Underground, where she has been a featured writer since April 2009. She also writes about fashion and style at Thoroughly Modern Melly. She lives in Columbus’s Short North and enjoys reading, running, and sarcasm.