A new $33 million coworking space in downtown Alton, operated by a real estate company trying to transform the Metro East town, opened for business on Monday — marking the completion of the group’s first major project.
The Wedge Innovation Center, a 55,000 square-foot research lab, think tank and workspace, will drive innovation and spur future economic growth in town, said J. Scot Heathman, The Wedge’s CEO.
“We see this really as a catalyst not only for Alton, but really to kind of use it as an engine for all of southwestern Illinois and across the bi-state into Missouri,” Heathman said.
AltonWorks, the group behind The Wedge, has additional plans underway to construct affordable housing units and rehab other retail space along Alton’s central and historic corridor. The group is spearheaded by prominent local attorney John Simmons.
The new facility also has retail spaces, employee locker rooms, bike storage and electric vehicle charging stations. In addition, AltonWorks will soon start putting in $20 million worth of 10G fiber for internet use, funded by a state grant, that can be used by The Wedge and the public.
“What's good for people who live on one side [the Mississippi] is also good for people who live on the other,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said on a November tour of The Wedge. “I must say, though, I'm very proud that this is here in Illinois.”
The Wedge facility combines two historic buildings — a bank originally built in 1904 and a commercial building built in 1868. It was funded by a combination of private investments and local, state and federal grants.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville will also be a tenant at the new facility. Various university centers, like ones focusing on geographic information systems, data and machine learning and community development, will operate out of the Wedge and collaborate with entrepreneurs.
It will also host the Midwest Artificial Intelligence Network, or MAIN, start-up companies and a venture capital firm and whoever else needs office space.
All the current tenants will provide a community welcoming and supportive for other startups with the idea of creating new businesses and jobs in town, Heathman said.
“We're going to be able to provide incubator-type services for maybe a startup or a founder,” Heathman said. “[We’ll provide] education to not only the folks that work there but even in and around the community and really kind of bootstrap some initiatives going forward here. Hopefully, we can revitalize Alton and the surrounding region.”
Heathman, a retired commander of the host wing at Scott Air Force Base in the Metro East, said he believes The Wedge could be a blueprint to help revitalize other communities by looking at the challenges facing their community and coming up with solutions.
“When we start doing that as an innovation hub, and we see the success that comes out of that, that will now aid our ability to talk to other communities,” Heathman said. “‘How could we help you if you are facing economic downturns or population decreases?’ — things like that.”
