The American Tobacco Campus is about to get a lot more crowded.
Set to open in October, a new space in the complex called the American Underground will house the Council for Entrepreneurial Development, Joystick Labs and LaunchBox Digital. Additional tenants are expected to eventually move in.
The communal space will include a 60-person classroom, conference rooms, tenant suites, offices and an arcade. It is located in the lower levels of the Crowe and Strickland buildings in the ATC complex.
“This project is extremely exciting,” said Michael Goodmon, vice president of real estate for Capitol Broadcasting Company, which owns the ATC. “It will introduce a new wave of entrepreneurs to the Durham community.”
CED will relocate to the space in October from its current location in the Research Triangle Park. The company, which was founded in 1984, promotes high-growth companies and aims to foster entrepreneurial culture in North Carolina.
CED President Joan Siefert Rose said she believes the new space in downtown Durham will benefit the community.
“This concentration of entrepreneurial companies, business accelerators like LaunchBox Digital and Joystick Labs and nonprofits serving the community like CED, gives the area a critical mass that heretofore has been missing,” she said. “CED is excited to be part of the entrepreneurial hub that is forming at the American Underground.”
Joystick Labs provides teams of video game developers with money to sustain projects, and LaunchBox Digital provides capital to technology-focused companies.
Rose had an earlier experience with the ATC when she was a general manager of North Carolina Public Radio, which built its broadcast studios there, but noted that the campus has become even more successful in recent years.
“Back then, in 2006, it was still more of a big vision than reality, but the finished space and campus exceeded all our expectations,” she said. “Employees loved working there.”
The American Underground is opening during a decade of significant growth for Durham and North Carolina. In 2009, Forbes Magazine ranked North Carolina the No. 5 best state for business. CNBC also gave the state high marks, ranking it fourth on its list of the best states for business.
A number of students have noticed the development of Durham; East Campus is a short walk from the ATC and downtown. Sophomore Emily Mendenhall believes that the city’s economic development is important to Duke students.
“There has been an effort to revive downtown with live music festivals, clubs, the farmer’s market, local eateries, better public transport and so on,” she said. “The concept of continuing that revival is very appealing.”
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