Gov. Phil Murphy often talks about the innovation economy. Monday, he took a step in that direction. In a room full of government officials, academics and corporate heads at Rutgers University, Murphy announced plans to turn a hole in the ground, known in New Brunswick as “The Hub,” into a large incubator for scientific and technological research.

“We campaigned and we’re governing now on this notion of a stronger, fairer New Jersey that works for everybody. On the stronger side, that’s growing the darn economy. And we think the two big economies that have the most upside are the infrastructure economy, and there’s lots of infrastructure that goes with this, and the innovation economy, basically reclaiming our rightful space,” said Murphy.