{"id":29696,"date":"2026-08-11T16:26:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T20:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/?p=29696"},"modified":"2026-08-11T16:53:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T20:53:11","slug":"marshall-university-highlights-continued-momentum-in-idea-district-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/2026\/08\/marshall-university-highlights-continued-momentum-in-idea-district-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Marshall University highlights continued momentum in IDEA District development"},"content":{"rendered":"
Marshall University today unveiled the next phase of development in its $300 million IDEA District, highlighting significant progress on multiple projects that are transforming the area into a hub for innovation, entrepreneurship, education and economic development.<\/p>\n

The “Building Tomorrow Today” update highlighted new partnerships, facility plans and continued investment across the district, reinforcing Marshall’s vision of creating a nationally recognized innovation ecosystem that connects students, researchers, entrepreneurs and industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery partnership we announce and every investment we make strengthens our ability to attract talent, support entrepreneurs and accelerate economic growth,\u201d said Marshall University President Brad D. Smith. \u201cThe IDEA District is proof that when we dream boldly and work together, we can build tomorrow today.”<\/p>\n

Long-term plans for the IDEA District include several additional buildings, including a potential hotel and private townhomes, further advancing the concept of a vibrant innovation district where people can live, work and collaborate in one connected community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very excited to continue work on this transformative district,” said Toney Stroud, Marshall’s chief legal counsel and vice president of strategic initiatives and corporate relations, who shared details of the updates to a crowd of more than 100 at Marshall Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Among the latest developments is the transformation of the former Latta’s building into the IDEA Collaborative, a shared space designed to advance collaboration among organizations focused on regional growth and entrepreneurship. The facility will serve as the future home of the Huntington Area Development Council (HADCO), the iCenter and a private business partner, among others, creating a centralized location where business, economic development and innovation organizations can work together to accelerate opportunity throughout the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cHADCO is thrilled to move into the IDEA District and join the IDEA Collaborative, establishing our future home at the heart of this vibrant new space,\u201d said Kaylin Jorge, HADCO executive director. \u201cBy centering HADCO\u2019s operations alongside key regional partners in innovation and entrepreneurship, we are strengthening our ability to drive economic growth, support local businesses and unlock new opportunities for our community. We look forward to leveraging this collaborative hub to elevate our work and usher in a continued bright economic future for the Huntington area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plans also include a new Med-Tech Building to be built on the current construction staging area in the 1500 block of 4th Avenue. The facility will provide space for a private industry partner that will be announced in the coming weeks and further strengthen the university’s growing portfolio of industry collaborations in health care and technology. Additionally, the university, along with others, is working with the South Korean company, UNDBIO, which is in the early planning stages to bring an insulin manufacturing facility to Huntington, creating 1,700 jobs.<\/p>\n

At the heart of the district, construction continues on the Institute for Cyber Security (ICS), which has already secured an impressive roster of industry partners.<\/p>\n

IBM,\u202fIntuit,\u202fAlpha Innovations and DroneTrace\u202fhave committed to maintaining a presence in the facility, creating opportunities for student engagement, applied research, and workforce development.<\/p>\n

Part of IBM\u2019s commitment is the establishment of an IBM Cyber Campus, powered by AWS and Cloud Range. This multi-layered collaboration delivers an immersive, cloud-enabled learning experience that combines real-world cyber incident response simulations and collaborative visualization environments to students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cyber Campus offers students hands-on education with enterprise technologies, AI, and cybersecurity operations that will prepare them for today\u2019s cybersecurity roles,\u201d said Brian Cunningham, IBM West Virginia state executive.<\/p>\n

Partnerships like the one with IBM serve as important support for the work being done at Marshall.<\/p>\n

“The IDEA District will bring education, industry, and innovation together, creating hands-on learning opportunities for students,\u201d said Alex Donathan, executive director of the ICS. \u201cWith strong partners at its foundation, we will grow together and strengthen our region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, a locally owned food caf\u00e9 and market will be housed on the first floor of the ICS, Via Lombarda.<\/p>\n

The Brad D. Smith Center for Business and Innovation, which opened in 2024, continues to serve as the cornerstone of the IDEA District. The facility houses Marshall’s Lewis College of Business, the Encova Auditorium and collaborative classrooms, meeting spaces and innovation labs that support academic programs while serving as a destination for community events, conferences and entrepreneurial activity. Partnerships include gBeta powered by Quality Insights.<\/p>\n

Smith said the continued investment demonstrates the university’s commitment to creating an innovation district that will have lasting benefits for Huntington, the region and the state.<\/p>\n

“The economic impact of the IDEA District extends far beyond the buildings themselves,” Smith said. “We’re creating an environment where education, research, entrepreneurship and private industry come together to generate new ideas, attract investment, create high-quality jobs and prepare the workforce of tomorrow. This is about building an ecosystem that will strengthen our community and help position West Virginia as a leader in innovation for decades to come.”<\/p>\n

Marshall officials say another partner, LG Nova, has agreed to have a presence in the district as well and continues to support the initiative, both financially and with programming support. Both Smith and Stroud thanked LG’s West Virginia Director Mitch Carmichael for the company’s support.<\/p>\n

The IDEA District, short for Impossible Doesn’t Exist Anymore, is designed to unite education, research, business and industry in a collaborative environment that accelerates innovation and drives economic growth. As additional facilities, partners and businesses continue to join the district, Marshall is creating new opportunities for students while attracting companies seeking access to talent, research expertise and collaborative partnerships.<\/p>\n

Additional announcements regarding private industry partnerships and future development within the IDEA District are expected in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

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Marshall University today unveiled the next phase of development in its $300 million IDEA District, highlighting significant progress on multiple projects that are transforming the area into a hub for innovation, entrepreneurship, education and economic development. The “Building Tomorrow Today” update highlighted new partnerships, facility plans and continued investment across the district, reinforcing Marshall’s vision […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":239,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/239"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29696"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29709,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29696\/revisions\/29709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}