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Updated: 7 hours ago

Colby College plans campus hub touted as ‘leap forward’ for innovation

Colby College rendering Rendering / Susan T Rodriguez | Architecture and Design, via Colby College With a lead gift from the Bill and Joan Alfond family, Colby College plans to transform a campus building into a state-of-the-art innovation hub.
By Renee Cordes

Colby College plans to transform a building on the school’s Waterville campus into a 40,000-square-foot community and discovery space touted as a game-changer for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Named in honor of a local family with close ties to the private liberal arts college, the future Levine’s Discovery Headquarters is part of the Colby’s $1 billion Dare Northward campaign to position itself as a leader in higher education. It also forms a key component of the school’s planned $500 million investment in innovation, science and technology.

The school did not disclose how much it plans to invest in renovating the Runnals Building, which will reopen in fall 2027 as a hub for students to explore new ideas and engage in projects supported by the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence and various labs on campus.

Colby said it received a lead gift from the Bill and Joan Alfond family for the endeavor. Project partners include two New York-based architecture firms, Susan T. Rodriquez | Architecture and Design and Mitchell Giurgola Architects LLP.

Colby building rendering
Rendering / Susan T Rodriguez | Architecture • Design, via Colby College
Colby College plans to open the Levin's Discovery Headquarters in fall 2027.

“We are grateful to the Bill and Joan Alfond family, who have created this incredible opportunity for our students and community members to come together around entrepreneurial and innovative activities," said Colby President David A. Greene, who was honored as a Mainebiz Business Leader of the Year in 2017.

"This project is about working in partnership with the community to find solutions that are creative and enterprising," he added.

About half of Dirigo Labs’ seven-person team are set to work in the new space, which will also accommodate students, staff and faculty from Thomas College in Waterville and Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield for entrepreneurial activities. 

Creativity and commerce nexus

Garvan D. Donegan, president and CEO of the Central Maine Growth Council, said the project represents “a significant leap forward” for innovation and economic growth for Waterville, central Maine and the state as a whole. 

“This facility is a powerful example of how Colby College’s $500 million investment in science, technology and enterprise is being activated in partnership with the community,” he told Mainebiz. "By co-locating Colby’s academic labs, the Davis Institute for AI and Dirigo Labs under one roof, we’re creating a true nexus of creativity and commerce.”

Donegan was honored on the Mainebiz Next list in 2021.

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