STAR Campus’ FinTech Innovation Hub reached a major milestone

University of Delaware’s Science Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus, home of the Chemours R&D building completed a year ago, is getting closer to the completion of the $38 million FinTech Innovation Hub.

Plans for the six-story, 100,000-square-foot structure were announced in 2019, with plans for a 2021 launch. The week, the construction project hit its halfway point, as the final beam was put into place.

Despite the pandemic, the project — which is owned and will be managed by Delaware Technology Park —  is on schedule and is expected to be completed in November. Though there was no celebratory ceremony to mark the occasion, the 1,500-pound beam bears the signatures of many involved in the project, including UD President Dennis Assanis.

“The placement of the final beam on the FinTech Innovation Hub represents a significant and exciting milestone in this project and in our ongoing mission to advance the economic development of our state,” Assanis told UDaily. “As our economy recovers from the effects of the pandemic, our investments and partnerships in fintech, biopharmaceuticals and the entire University will play critical roles in creating opportunities for education, collaborative research, entrepreneurship, job growth and community engagement.”

Once finished, the FinTech Innovation Hub will offer spaces for startups, with access to business development resources and technical assistance, as well as labs and centers associated with UD’s College of Engineering and Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics. The space will also include a Delaware Small Business Development Center.

The public-private partnership aims to be be a resource for financial technology companies and organizations, both connected with UD and from the wider community.

“Aspirationally, we hope it’s going to be a center of excellence for the digital sciences, fintech and data management of many things, private and public,” Delaware Technology Park President Mike Bowman said. “The University’s skill sets, students, professors and researchers are in great demand for the tools of fintech, big data and machine learning. There’s a definite need and purpose to this building. It’s about serving the community, at the individual and small-business level.”

Read more about the project at UDaily.