“We spent a year going and looking at different accelerators, and believe we will have an opportunity to do something very special for the city,” Flow said. “Many cities that have prospered and flourished have done so by creating a strong entrepreneurial culture.”

As Flow sees it, the tower won’t just be for those who work there.

“We think it will be exciting,” Flow said. “We will have fitness centers, cafe and coffee shops, some of it open to the public and some of it for the folks that are there. The idea is to create a welcoming space, a city commons for entrepreneurs who want to start something.”

President Nathan Hatch of Wake Forest University said in a release that “Wake Forest University is very excited about the opportunity to participate with Don Flow in making Winston-Salem an entrepreneurial center.”

“With the support of mentors and investors from the community and the Wake Forest network, we envision that many of our very entrepreneurial students will work on the start-up ventures at Winston Starts and continue to scale them up after graduation,” Hatch said in the release.

Flow will spend up to $10 million to renovate the GMAC tower for the new tenants.