Gravity owner and developer Kaufman Development is purchasing the Idea Foundry in Franklinton.
The largest makerspace in the world, the Idea Foundry, 421 W. State St., will become a part of the large-scale development in Franklinton with Gravity’s residential, office and retail tenants having access to The Idea Foundry. The second phase of the project is currently going up across State Street from the makerspace.
The 65,000 square foot facility offers a mix of office, workshop and events spaces, with additional tools and technologies that support some 500 plus members. Founded in 2008 by Alex Bandar, The Idea Foundry made the move to Franklinton in 2014, initially occupying just the first floor of the former factory. With support and investment from local entrepreneurs Nancy Kramer and Christopher Celeste, The Idea Foundry finished the buildout of its second floor in 2017, adding more coworking, office and events space to the first floor’s more industrial use.
Gravity Founder Brett Kaufman will buy the building from Kramer and Celeste, while Bandar and his team will continue to run the space after the transition.
“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. “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 will provided additional resources to the Idea Foundry, with potential projects and ideas including:
- Building out The Idea Foundry rooftop, basement and parking lot to bring added value to The Idea Foundry experience
- A maker-in-residence or entrepreneur-in-residence program that would allow someone to live at Gravity while launching a new idea or concept at The Idea Foundry
- A designer-in-residence program in collaboration with Columbus Fashion Alliance
- Accelerator programs to rapidly upskill motivated people
- Pop-up retail spaces or marketplaces for budding artists and makers
“The Idea Foundry has long been a vibrant and inclusive maker space for creators, innovators and futurists, and we’re excited to officially incorporate their energy and passion into the Gravity community,” said Kaufman. “We want to continue to nurture it as a haven for creativity and further develop its underutilized space so that even more people can develop and hone their ideas, projects and businesses. This creates an internationally unique collaborative and equitable ecosystem. It’s a collective uplift with unlimited potential.”
The Idea Foundry’s largest tenant, The Columbus Fashion Alliance, has already begun brainstorming ideas with Gravity.
“The Columbus Fashion Alliance is getting ready for an ambitious year full of impact. We want to continue to make our production labs, design labs and spaces to collaborate accessible to the growing fashion community in Columbus,” said Columbus Fashion Alliance Founder Yohannan “Yogi” Terrell, whose marketing firm, Warhol & Wall Street, also calls The Idea Foundry home. “We are looking forward to discovering what opportunities can be unlocked through a partnership with Gravity.”
As with all businesses, The Idea Foundry faced challenges during the pandemic, initially letting go its staff in March of 2020, canceling classes and halting all entry of general public non-members. Then CEO Casey McCarty shared more about the makerspace’s financial challenges. However, the organization weathered the pandemic, eventually resuming classes in activities in May of 2021.
As they transition away from ownership of the property, Celeste said, “Kramer and I originally invested in the 100-year-old shoe factory that is the Idea Foundry’s home precisely because we believed that specific building could serve as a sort of ‘cathedral to creativity’ at the heart of a revived Franklinton neighborhood. And while Alex, Yogi and so many Foundry members have worked tirelessly to bring that vision to life, we’re thrilled that the Kaufman team and Gravity are stepping in to help them sustain and expand it for the future.”
For more information, visit ideafoundry.com and gravityproject.com.
