Key Takeaways
- Ohio State Timashev Technology Tower construction began on Oct. 20, with the university starting work on the eight-story building.
- The tower will give startups, life science labs, and student founders one shared home.
- University leaders expect the building to open in September 2028.
Ohio State University broke ground Tuesday on the $98 million Timashev Technology Tower, an eight-story hub in its Innovation District for startups, research, and student founders.
A Hub for Startups and Labs
The building will cover about 103,000 square feet on the university’s west campus. It will rise between the Pelotonia Research Center and the Energy Advancement and Innovation Center. The site sits in the 350-acre Innovation District, which the university once called Carmenton.
The Ohio State Timashev Technology Tower will give the Center for Software Innovation a permanent home. The center will host startups that come out of BuildX, a university program that guides student founders through each stage of building a company. Startups from across central Ohio and the state can also move in.
Inside, tenants will find flexible co-working areas, private offices, and spaces to meet other technology companies. Ohio State will also run wet labs, which are research rooms built for chemical work. Life science startups that spin out of university research often need this kind of space.
University leaders say the setup should shorten the path from lab to market. A student founder, a veteran entrepreneur and a university researcher will work in the same building. That close contact can help teams share ideas, find partners and hire talent faster.
Why Leaders Back the Project
University President Ravi Bellamkonda said the tower brings the university’s vision for the Innovation District to life. He wants life science startups, technology startups, and established companies working side by side. Ohio State reports $1.7 billion in research, and much of it focuses on life sciences.
Interim Provost Trevor Brown said the district exists to connect university research with business. He said Ohio State will curate and manage wet labs and other research space in the Ohio State Timashev Technology Tower for that purpose.
Bellamkonda also pointed to Ohio’s history of building and manufacturing. He said that spirit now drives the push to grow new technology companies in the state.
Funding and Next Steps
Ratmir Timashev, an Ohio State graduate and software entrepreneur, and his wife, Angela, gave $110 million to the university in 2023 through their family foundation. Part of that gift pays for the tower and for the Center for Software Innovation’s education programs. The building carries the family name.
JobsOhio, the state’s nonprofit economic development agency, plans to offer Ohio State a low-interest loan of $100 million for the project. The state of Ohio and the city of Columbus also back the tower.
Timashev said the Ohio State Timashev Technology Tower aims to prepare students for a fast-changing world of artificial intelligence, innovation and life sciences. He hopes Columbus and central Ohio will become the next major technology hub.
Crews will build the tower over about two years. Bellamkonda said the university hopes to open it in September 2028.
The Innovation District already draws outside partners, including a new Google partnership to speed AI-enabled discovery. It also includes the Energy Advancement and Innovation Center, a hub for researchers, entrepreneurs, and industry experts focused on smart systems and renewable energy.
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