Write a commentJames Prost, principal of VantagePoint Economic and Transportation Development Strategies, LLC of Baltimore, MD, presented the findings of a study to the County Legislature's Economic Development and Planning Committee recently, stating that a new business incubator would help new businesses grow.
The County of Oswego IDA and Operation Oswego County are planning to transform the 43,000-square-foot former Price Chopper facility in the City of Oswego into a state-of-the-art business incubator with space for light-industrial and service-based clients.
The estimated project cost is $6 million, according to Prost.The cost breakdown includes $3.5 million for renovations and improvements to the building itself, $700,000 for high-tech equipment, $800,000 for acquisition of the property and $1 million for contingencies.
L. Michael Treadwell, CEO of the COIDA, said the agency has already secured a $900,000 grant from Empire State Development Corporation through the Regional Economic Development Council Consolidated Funding Application process and are currently pursuing additional funding.
An incubator provides a number of advantages that can otherwise be difficult to acquire for new and developing business, Treadwell said. Shared conference space, reception and administrative services, the use of specialized R&D and manufacturing equipment, and the on-site presence of small business development staff would all be accessible.
More than 30 businesses have graduated from the county's current and previous incubators, Treadwell said, which have operated for more than 20 years.
"We've had a good record. We certainly anticipate we'll be successful in terms of having the occupancy level to sustain this operation and we recognize that this is the way we need to go to support small business growth," Treadwell said.
Treadwell said the incubator would be implemented in phases. Gradually refurbishing the site and bringing in tenants over time would allow revenue to be generated, making it easier to secure more funding, according to Treadwell.
The incubator in the Oswego County Industrial Park in Schroeppel, which recently sold, and the current incubator, the Oswego County Business Expansion Center, in Oswego were filled to capacity and Operation Oswego County had no place to accommodate new businesses, especially for light industrial and research & development.
"We're losing businesses now because we don't have a place to put them. We've already got people knocking on the door interested in locating in this new facility," said Treadwell.
The next step in developing the incubator includes finalizing the grant agreement with Empire State Development Corp., pursuing further funding and finalizing the acquisition of the property with the Port of Oswego Authority, which currently owns it. The C&S Companies has been retained to provide design development services to help create a layout to maximize utilization of the space and equipping the facility for incubator purposes. C&S was previously used to perform a structural study of the building and assisted VantagePoint on developing cost estimates.
Partners for the incubator project include Operation Oswego County, the County of Oswego IDA, SUNY Oswego, the NYS Small Business Development Center, Port of Oswego and Empire State Development Corporation, among others.
