With the completion of construction, things are coming together on the first level of 118 North Market.
The street entrance and first floor are the final pieces of the ROOT puzzle, bringing together groups like Frederick County Office of Economic Development, the Chamber of Commerce, the Center for Research and Education in Science & Technology (CREST), Hood’s Martha E. Church Center for Community Engagement, and Frederick Innovative Technology Center, Inc.
ROOT is a business innovation center- a public/private partnership that was organized with the purpose of helping businesses to grow deep roots in Frederick County. The building’s first floor, which is the latest level to get a facelift, serves as an additional location for the Frederick Innovative Technology Center, Inc. (FITCI). FITCI is Frederick County’s first and only business incubator and accelerator. FITCI’s new home includes offices for start-up companies, as well as rentable desk spaces and a daily drop-in area. Convertible glass conference rooms greet you as you walk in the front door, providing FITCI clients with meeting space options. A large and bright front lobby with views of Downtown Frederick welcomes visitors to ROOT during the day, and provides the perfect spot for hosting events.
March is a big month for ROOT. FITCI welcomed its first clients into the new space at the start of the month, and a grand opening is planned for Thursday, March 29th to officially celebrate the opening of the building and welcome ROOT and all of its tenants to Frederick. What started as a vision from County Executive Jan Gardner to bring this public/private partnership together is being realized as the ROOT partners continue to collaborate to support business in Frederick County.