Innovation center opens in the heart of Roxbury

Adding to Greater Boston’s roster of business-building initiatives, a new Roxbury Innovation Center was set to open in a ceremony Monday afternoon.

Mayor Martin Walsh planned to be there to welcome the not-for-profit gathering and event space, housed in the Bruce C. Boiling municipal building in Dudley Square.

As other hubs of tech and innovation see interest from developers, Walsh has previously supported ways to boost development in the square, which is anchored by a bus station and surrounded by stores and restaurants.

“We want to be able to spread, so it’s not just in Kendall Square and the Innovation District, but it’s also in Dudley,” Walsh told the State House News Service last year.

The city picked the Venture Café Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation, to run the Roxbury center.

“We look forward to working with the community to create a space for experimentation and conversation that highlights all of the innovation and entrepreneurship happening locally, and connects to resources that make ideas and businesses grow faster,” Venture Café wrote on its website.

The effort is a partnership with Boston Public Schools, which is also using the Boiler Building, and Skylab Boston, a nonprofit running entrepreneurship programming in Dudley.

The center, described in a release as being 3,000 square feet, promised wireless-connected space for classes, hack-a-thons and other meetings aimed at spurring innovation in the area. It was being supported by funds including a $150,000 grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

The center is now taking reservations via an online event request form.