Kaufman Development is buying Franklinton’s Idea Foundry, the largest makerspace in the world

Kaufman development’s massive Franklinton development project, Gravity, has a massive new acquisition to its name.

The Idea Foundry, a 65,000 square foot former factory located at 421 W. State St. billed as “the largest makerspace in the world”, will be purchased by Kaufman, to become part of the Gravity community. Gravity’s second phase, which is currently under construction, is located across State Street from the Idea Foundry.

Created in 2008 by Alex Bandar, the Idea Foundry moved to its current Franklinton location in 2014. Today, it houses more than 500 entrepreneurs and makers, and is home to a litany of state of the art tools like laser cutters and 3D printers.

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According to a press release, Kaufman will purchase the Idea Foundry from owners Nancy Kremer and Christopher Celeste. Bandar will continue to operate the space, which will now be backed by Kaufman’s resources.

“Kramer and Christopher took a scrappy, grassroots community of makers, put us in a rocket ship and launched us. Now, Brett [Kaufman] is refueling us to take us even higher,” Bandar said in a press release. “There is already so much synergy between The Idea Foundry and Gravity, and this will allow us to amplify and accelerate our growth and impact in remarkable ways. This takes us from being a space for creatives to being a district for creatives, with opportunities that will be unique to any makerspace in the world.”

Gravity tenants will have access to the Idea Foundry under the change in ownership, and the space could see a variety of potential new additions, such as building out the Foundry’s basement, rooftop and parking lot, creating an artist-in-residence and entrepreneur-in-residence programs, and creating pop-up spaces for artists and makers.

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