Mayor Kevin Faulconer will preside over a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the official opening of NEST, downtown San Diego’s largest co-working space for tech startups, on Wednesday, April 6 at 10:45 am.
The NEST ceremony will be held at 1855 First Avenue, 2nd Floor of the Manpower building, located in Bankers Hill adjacent to downtown. Covering more than 16,000 square feet, the newly-opened space reflects San Diego’s fast-growing leadership role in the hi-tech and cybersecurity sectors.
Along with Mayor Faulconer, more than 100 elected officials, business, civic and tech leaders are expected to attend including event MC Reo Carr, Executive Editor, San Diego Business Journal; Sherri S. Lightner, San Diego City Council President District 1; Shelley Zimmerman, Chief of Police, City of San Diego; Erik Caldwell, Director of Economic Development, City of San Diego; Phil Blair, Executive Officer, Manpower San Diego; and Greg McKee, CEO, CONNECT.
In addition to saluting the new tech space, Mayor Faulconer is expected to announce San Diego’s role as an innovator within the new “Smart and Safe Cities” campaign, part of the recently launched state-wide initiative, CyberCalifornia.
NEST Ribbon-cutting Ceremony with Mayor Faulconer
Wednesday, April 6, 10:30-11:30 am
Manpower, 1855 First Avenue, 2nd Floor, San Diego, CA 92101
Funding for NEST derives from a $40,000 City of San Diego grant, part of the city’s Regional Economic Development Corporation Transient Occupancy Tax funding program. Under the guidance of San Diego-based cybersecurity executive Darin Andersen, NEST is supported by resident and non-resident membership fees, plus sponsor partners and grants. The space is fully leased with 42 resident members. That total is expected to grow to 80 companies by mid-2017. For every resident member, NEST also supports an additional four non-resident members through its Community Social Incubation Model.
“We’re grateful that Mayor Faulconer and his staff fully recognize that our newest co-working venture will serve to further accelerate the region’s startup sector, with its growing emphasis on downtown,” said Andersen, chairman of CyberCalifornia, a non-profit security alliance of industry, government and academic leaders. “We’re equally grateful for the generous support and vision of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation.”
Additional tech-themed working spaces within the Manpower building include: CyberHive, iHive, and xHive, featuring an array of incubators, shared workspaces, temporary workspaces and co-working spaces.
To RSVP for the ceremony please click here.
For more information about NEST please click here.
