A decade in the making, the onMain Innovation District celebrated a milestone Sept. 26, with the groundbreaking for its first commercial building, the Think Dayton building. The event marks the beginning of vertical construction on the 38-acre former Montgomery County Fairgrounds site.
"This building is more than just steel and glass; it's a transformational project built on the power of collaboration and designed to propel the region into the next age of innovation," said Brian Heitkamp, CEO of onMain Inc. "We've seen our dreams of innovation transform into reality with the foundational work we've done with the support of our partners. The new building will anchor the first phase of construction and represents a significant step in the vision to create a vibrant district for research, technology, workforce development and economic growth in the region."
The Think Dayton building, a five-story, 120,000-sq.-ft. facility, will serve as the cornerstone for the district, attracting new investment and jobs in research and technology as well as a hub where academia, government and private industry will work together. The project represents a total investment of more than $70 million, including a foundational $35 million from the state of Ohio's Innovation Hub Program.
The building's design, inspired by Dayton's aviation heritage, will focus on digital transformation technologies and house flexible office and research space to support emerging companies, university partnerships and industry collaboration. Operations inside the Think Dayton building will include a digital transformation initiative, in collaboration with the University of Dayton Research Institute, that promotes solutions for the U.S. Air Force and other partners, while providing hands-on learning opportunities for students and workforce development.
onMain is a partnership between the University of Dayton and Premier Health. The development of the site was made possible with support from the state of Ohio, JobsOhio, Montgomery County, the city of Dayton and Dayton Public Schools.
This groundbreaking follows extensive infrastructure and utility work completed this summer, which prepared the site for building construction. The Think Dayton building will be constructed and completed along with two new community spaces, with a projected opening in 2027.
