Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y., has broken ground for its new Damon Hall Business Incubator.

The university's Shipley Center for Innovation is renovating a building in downtown Potsdam into support and business incubator manufacturing space. The incubator will focus primarily on manufacturing space.

The 6,000-square-foot project, created through funding from the Northern Border Regional Commission, will remove asbestos from the building, install a fire alarm system, a heating system and lighting, and carry out infrastructure repairs.

The university says the facility renovation is an opportunity to turn an unused building, vacant for more than 20 years, into a usable, thriving space.

In future phases of its Downtown Campus Revitalization Project, Clarkson envisions a premium mixed-use space that will house additional incubator businesses, as well the option of a food storage component.