Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
OGDEN — The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration announced $1 million grant for the Ogden City Corporation.
The grant will go towards the building of a Mobile App Lab, which promises to create up to 750 jobs and provide training and space for business start-ups in a highly progressing industry. The lab has the potential to generate over $4 million of private investments over the course of ten years.
The market for mobile applications has grown exponentially, as have the devices to use them, creating technologies for the ever-expanding society that continues to rely more and more on portable information.
"The mobile apps initiative is an important element in our efforts to continue with the positive economic momentum of our community. This project will create jobs for Ogden's tech force and increase the economic opportunity in our downtown core; as well as leverage the City's existing IT-industry clusters," Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell said.
"The Obama Administration is committed to helping workers get the education and skills needed for jobs in the growing high-tech industry that support a 21st century workforce," said Matt Erskine, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. "This $1 million EDA grant will help the city of Ogden to enhance an existing information technology cluster in the region and will bring opportunities for new businesses, enabling them to flourish and create new jobs."
The initiative will be operated by a several partners that include Ogden City, Weber State University, Weber State University Research Foundation and private-sector industry leaders. It will include a code shop operated by Weber State University Research Foundation, a training center, and office space from high-tech start-ups, said a press release from the EDA.
The Obama Administration has also been working on making more useful government services and information available through mobile applications that will be taught in the lab in Ogden. The lab will also be used to inspire entrepreneurs to get creative in their application development, cutting unemployment rates down, creating more domestic business opportunities and making more government information available to consumers.
To view the press release from the Obama Administration concerning the government shift to mobile information click here.
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference begins June 11, and is predicted to unveil new software, products and software, that can serve as inspiration for the future of the Mobile App Lab. USA Today has kept an up-to-date record of all the new updates of the conference and can be seen here. Apple's CEO Tim Cook said there have now been over 30 billion apps downloaded in the iTunes app store since its initial opening in 2008.
As of now, there is no projected date as to when the lab will be up and running.
