Bennett J. Loudon

Staff writer

A year after being rebuffed by state officials, High Tech Rochester officials unveiled a $20 million plan Wednesday to set up a Business Accelerator Cooperative facility in the heart of downtown.

The 75,000-square-foot facility would be housed in an unspecified existing building in the Midtown/Main Street/East Avenue vicinity. It's intended to serve as an anchor for a new "innovation district" bringing together a mix of entrepreneurs, investors, entertainment and creative types to cultivate new ideas, new businesses and new jobs.

"The opportunity is really to create 1,000 new jobs and 100 tech startup companies," High Tech Rochester President Jim Senall told the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council Wednesday as he asked for $5 million in state funding for the project.

The proposal was among the projects the council submitted to the state last year as part of the annual Consolidated Funding Application process, but it didn't make the cut. Originally, the plan was to locate the accelerator at an Alexander Street building in 100,000 square feet of space as part of a larger mixed-use project there.

The innovation district concept envisioned by Senall was the subject of a recent report from the Brookings Institution called The Rise of Innovation Districts, which makes a case for cultivating new high-tech businesses in urban settings by establishing neighborhoods with businesses, universities, investors and creative thinkers in close proximity to one another and near leisure and entertainment spots.

The concept of an innovation district is happening in other urban areas, such as Boston, Cleveland, Atlanta and St. Louis. An innovation district is an area with a combination of features, such as office space, restaurants, coffee shops, meeting spaces, entertainment venues and high-speed Internet access. The intention is to attract a combination of entrepreneurs, their workers, investors and creative types to intermingle, develop ideas, new companies and jobs to drive the local economy.

Priority projects

The HTR plan is one of dozens of projects seeking state funding that were outlined for the council Wednesday by representatives of 16 work groups covering major sectors of the economy, plus human service issues.

Funding applications are now being reviewed by state officials who will verify each project's eligibility. The council must decide by Aug. 15 which projects will get the highest priority. State officials are expected to announce what projects will get funded in the fall.

Other projects being considered by the council include:

• Continued funding to attract companies to Eastman Business Park.

• Renovations to Frontier Field and the Blue Cross Arena.

• Job training programs.

• Senior housing as part of the redevelopment of the Sibley Building.

• New testing equipment for local photonics, optics and imaging companies.

• Wastewater treatment plants for Finger Lakes wineries.

But few of the projects come with the promise to deliver the economic benefits of the Business Accelerator Cooperative.

Over five years, Senall said, the accelerator will create a total of 5,000 jobs and $120 million in new payroll.

"We've identified at least 15 companies that said they would move into this if it opened tomorrow," he said.

With $5 million from the state, Senall said, work could start on the project this fall and the accelerator could be opened in 2015. HTR already has $8 million and is seeking additional private investment.

The Business Accelerator Cooperative will include a new headquarters for High Tech Rochester, now based in Henrietta. Senall said the accelerator will have room for new high-tech and biotech companies, a "makers lab" for 3-D prototyping, a mobile software development lab, space for workshops, speakers and other events, and offices for venture capitalists, angel investors and other supporting organizations.

Senall did not reveal the site for the accelerator, but he said it was in an existing building near the Midtown site, the Sibley Building and the Rochester Institute of Technology Center for Urban Entrepreneurship at 40 Franklin St.

"We're still negotiating. That's why we're not telling you the site right now," Senall told the council.

The accelerator building is one component of a three-part plan. The other two parts are RocGrowth.com, a website that is up and running with information on local resources for entrepreneurs, and a video conferencing system based at the current HTR headquarters that will link investors and business incubators in outlying counties to eliminate time-consuming travel for meetings.

BLOUDON@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/BennettLoudon