About the Kricker Innovation Hub
Advancing Ideas and Talent
Shawnee State University’s front door for entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity — a landmark facility in the heart of downtown Portsmouth, Ohio.
The story
A 130-year-old building with a new job
The building at 221 Chillicothe Street has stood in downtown Portsmouth since 1894, known for generations as the Sanford, Varner & Co. building. In 2020, Shawnee State University began a $4 million renovation to transform the historic property into a place where entrepreneurship, creativity, and community could come together.
The project was made possible through the visionary support of Jim Kricker, funding from the State of Ohio, and a catalytic investment from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. On March 9, 2023, the building reopened as the Kricker Innovation Hub.
Today, the 27,000-square-foot facility sits at the intersection of downtown Portsmouth and Shawnee State University, anchoring the city’s Arts and Innovation District. It is a place where the university, local businesses, community organizations, and entrepreneurs work together to create new opportunities for Southern Ohio.
The Hub builds on years of entrepreneurship programming, including Ignite Portsmouth, Startup Weekend Portsmouth, and the Glockner Dare to Dream High School Business Pitch Competition. A subsequent award through the EDA’s highly competitive Build to Scale program helped establish the digital and immersive technology accelerator now known as ShawneeXP.
But the Kricker Innovation Hub is more than a building or a collection of programs. It is a growing network of founders, students, mentors, investors, educators, and community partners working to nurture local talent and help promising ideas grow.
It belongs to everybody: Shawnee State students building their first company, founders who never set foot on campus, high schoolers at a pitch competition, and the neighbors who just come for the events. If you’re building something in Southern Ohio, this building is for you.
1894 · Built → 2020 · Renovation begins → 2023 · The Hub opens · 27,000 sq ft
5,000+
PARTICIPANTS SERVED
375
SMALL BUSINESSES HELPED
70
STARTUP COMPANIES LAUNCHED
Inside the building
Built for building
Not a co-working brand with a logo wall — a working facility with research-grade infrastructure.
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OARnet delivery point
A physical node on Ohio’s research network — high-speed data access most towns this size never see.
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Immersive technology lab
VR, AR, and visualization tools for coursework, prototyping, and community projects.
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Maker-space
Tech development space for hardware ideas that need a workbench, not just a whiteboard.
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Pre-seed incubation suites
Private suites for early ventures that have outgrown a coffee-shop table.
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Coworking & project rooms
Open desks, contemporary project rooms, and collaborative space for teams of any size.
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Conference-grade AV
Video conferencing and presentation spaces for workshops, pitches, and remote collaboration.
The people
Who makes it run
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Meet the Team
The staff who run the building, the programs, and the partnerships.
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Advisory Board
The leaders who steer the Hub’s direction and hold it to its mission.
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Mentor Network
Industry folks who give founders their time — and where you sign up to join them.
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Partners
The organizations that make the programs possible, regionally and nationally.