GOSHEN — The Goshen Chamber of Commerce unveiled the LaunchPad Thursday afternoon, a business incubator that will help start-up businesses develop and launch out into other spaces in the community.

The public was invited to the second floor of the chamber building to see the facility and add their input for what they’d like to see in the building. Plans illustrating the final layout were on display, and an “idea wall” was available for visitors to provide their ideas for the space.

Home-brewer Jesse Sensenig attended the open house and provided samples of beer to others in attendance. Sensenig, a Goshen College graduate who lives in Ohio, said he’s had some interest in opening a brewery and pub in Goshen and thought coming to see the LaunchPad would be a good idea.

Though he couldn’t do his brewing in the building, he said the space would be helpful to him if he needed to set up a meeting with an accountant or potential investor.

Sensenig believes it’s just a good space to have for start-up businesses in general. “I think that I’ll probably utilize this space at some point,” he said.

According to Chamber President David Daugherty, the idea for this type of facility came about at a chamber board retreat in 2005. After the tenant on the second floor of the chamber left last year and a replacement could not be found, chamber leadership decided to put the idea into action.

Daugherty said the chamber has since been active seeking local opinion on what they’d like to see in the building; visiting other business incubators at Notre Dame and Purdue; and recently, with the help of community volunteers, completing the demolition of the walls on the second floor to prepare for remodeling.

The second floor of the Chamber used to be divided into nine spaces, but the nearly 3,000-square-foot area will feature 2,000 square feet of common work space, a lounge area, two small meeting rooms that will accomomdate four to six people and a larger conference room that will fit eight to 10.

Service providers will be available to businesses to help facilitate their development and success, Daugherty added. He said the chamber is also looking for additional spaces that could be used by tenants to test prototypes of projects if the LaunchPad space could not accomomdate specific testing.

Daugherty said the chamber is raising money to fund the remodeling part of the project. He said they continue to look for mentors who would be willing to give their time to guide the eventual tenants and would also be open to starting a waiting list for tenants interested in occupying the space.

“The open house is to show the idea,” Daugherty said, and to help determine where to move with the project from there.

Chamber Vice President of Economic Development Nick Kieffer said he thinks the LaunchPad should open its doors officially in the spring, potentially in April.