GE Appliances marked the launch of a new project coming to Stamford.

It's been more than four years since General Electric moved its headquarters out of Connecticut, but now its former appliance division is making a return to the state.

The warehouse in Harbor Point may not look like much now, but come next year, the 67,000-square-foot facility will be home to CoCREATE Stamford, a first-of-its-kind co-creation center, featuring small appliance manufacturing.

GE Appliances President and CEO Kevin Nolan was joined by Gov. Ned Lamont and education leaders for the big announcement Monday.

“It is difficult to define what this place will be because we're trying to blur the line between innovation, education, and inspiration,” Nolan says.

Nolan says along with a micro-factory, the building will house a community makerspace that will invite the public to collaborate with engineers on new ideas.

“This is a place where people can come to learn and take part in our future,” he says.

GE Appliances will also partner with UConn and Connecticut State Colleges & Universities to provide educational opportunities and firsthand experience for students and prepare them for the workforce.

“This is a perfect collaboration, it's something that's in our sweet spot,” says Andrew Agwunobi, the interim president of the University of Connecticut.

Lamont added, “We're going to introduce the next generation of Eli Whitneys to what they can create, and that's what the CoCREATE Stamford is all about.”

Nolan says GE Appliances is investing millions of dollars in CoCREATE Stamford, which will open next year in phases and will initially create 25 jobs.

“As the most successful appliance company in America, it's important for us to come back to a place where manufacturing was really born in this country,” Nolan says. “If you look at this corridor, this is where manufacturing started.”

CoCREATE Stamford is set to open next year in phases, with the micro-factory being the first one. Though Nolan now lives in Louisville, he was raised in Stamford and graduated from the University of Connecticut.