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I Rolla, Missouri
<br />
<br />Rolla is a town o113,000 in south central
<br />Missouri. It boasts of a research university
<br />campus and one of the country's first rural
<br />high-tech incubators. Incubator experience
<br />suggests that a high-tech lacility is tough to
<br />do in a non-metropolitan setting. The Rolla
<br />experience defies the assumption that
<br />it can't be done adequately in a rural
<br />setting.
<br />
<br />In October, 1983, the University of Missouri
<br />at Rolla won a Small Business Innovation
<br />Research Grant from the U.S. Department
<br />of Agriculture to look at the feasibility of in-
<br />cubating high-tech companies in a rural set-
<br />ting. They looked principally at the potential
<br />pool of entrepreneurs in a non-metropolitan
<br />setting with a research-oriented university,
<br />including professors, alumni, people at-
<br />tracted to the research and development fa-
<br />cilities, community entrepreneurs, and
<br />others attracted to Rolla's quality of life.
<br />They found that most high-tech entre-
<br />preneurs made location decisions based on
<br />quality of life and traditional industrial con-
<br />siderations (taxes, cost of space, etc.). Fur-
<br />thermore, the most likely market for
<br />entrepreneurs in such a setting would come
<br />from university alumni and professors.
<br />
<br />The study inspired the Rolla incubator,
<br />which is expected over the long term to en-
<br />hance product developmenl and new indus-
<br />tries in the Rolla area. The project is part of
<br />a State of Missouri funded program to de-
<br />velop four innovation centers. The Rolla in-
<br />cubator has space for 3-6 high-tech
<br />businesses.
<br />
<br /> Don Myers, Science Advisor to Governor
<br /> Ashcroft of Missouri and a prime mover in
<br /> the Rolla project, illustrated the kinds of eh-
<br />I trepreneurs the incubator is attracting. "We
<br /> have one company headed by a college pro-
<br />
<br />lessor and a recent graduate with a ceramic
<br />engineering degree. They don't know much
<br />about business, don't have the bucks, and
<br />so we'll provide them with a structured en-
<br />vironment. At the other extreme, we at-
<br />tracted a man who sold his last medical
<br />imaging company in Frederick, Maryland,
<br />and decided to start another business. He
<br />got his Masters degree from the University
<br />of Missouri at Rolla and decided to move
<br />back. He has the management experience
<br />and the bucks, but we can still provide the
<br />structure he needs to get going again;'
<br />
<br />According to Myers, a private, for-profit in-
<br />cubator is appropriate in a rural setting. Al-
<br />though most rural incubators around the
<br />country are publicly sponsored, Myers
<br />claims that, "You need some hard-nosed
<br />business people making decisions based
<br />on a profit motive. If they're volunteers, you
<br />have to ask, 'Will they have the same
<br />commitment?'"
<br />
<br />Northwest Pennsylvania
<br />Are there enough firms in the mountains of
<br />Pennsylvania to make an incubator work?
<br />
<br />Northwest Pennsylvania is a region with an
<br />aging industrial base and high unemploy-
<br />ment, exacerbated by plant closings. Sev-
<br />eral years ago, a number of smaller towns in
<br />the region began to look at new ways to re-
<br />develop the area's economy and expand
<br />economic opportunity, including small busi-
<br />ness incubators.
<br />
<br />Girard: Adaptive Reuse
<br />
<br />The City of Girard (population 2,600) is 15
<br />miles from a town of 120,000. Girard turned
<br />to the incubator concept after the Marx Toy
<br />Company went bankrupt, leaving vacant a
<br />330,000 square foot building. Peter Homich
<br />and the Girard Area Industrial Development
<br />Corporation knew that the chances of at-
<br />tracting a large corporate tenant were slim,
<br />and spent $1 million to acquire and sub-
<br />divide the facility. In 1982, the Industrial
<br />Commons came into being.
<br />
<br />Their faith in local small business has been
<br />rewarded, with the project about 75% cc-
<br />cupied by a mix of existing and brand new
<br />enterprises. One firm had been shut down
<br />by its parent company but was purchased
<br />and 'saved' locally, and is now a valuable,
<br />job-generating tenant.
<br />
<br />Project Director Homich stresses that it's
<br />not just cheap rent, but the total package of
<br />the facility, management, and services avail-
<br />able that makes it advantageous to locate
<br />there. The majority of tenants are local, and
<br />local publicity is a key to reaching eh-
<br />trepreneurs, particularly through media
<br />coverage of early success stories.
<br />
<br />Ridgway: Managed Redevelopment
<br />
<br />In Ridgway (pop. 5,600), a 220,000 square
<br />foot building is being renovated by Ron
<br />Kuteck and the North Central Pennsylvania
<br />Regional Planning and Development Com-
<br />mission. The 1930s-vintage industrial plant
<br />was structurally sound despite having been
<br />vacant for 10 years. Plumbing, electrical,
<br />and heating systems required repair.
<br />
<br />Energy costs are a big factor in business
<br />decisions in the region. New facilities are
<br />being built in more energy-efficient areas. A
<br />new start-up looks at the utility bills of the
<br />last two years-- and it's scary. I know we"d
<br />do better if we had more energy-efficient
<br />space;' says Kuleck. "Good space is at a
<br />premium in the region; there are a lot of
<br />white elephants around."
<br />
<br />The area around Ridgway in North Central
<br />~'ennsylvania continues to be hit by plant
<br />closings and relocations, and the incubat(~-
<br />is a response to both that economic dis-
<br />location and the need of small firms for
<br />quality space. Funding in 1983 from the
<br />Economic Development Administration
<br />(EDA), the Appalachian Regional Commis-
<br />sion (ARC), and local sources has gone to-
<br />wards renovating the building. Because of
<br />the renovation timetable for the quarter-mile
<br />long buildir~g, Kuleck has not aggressively
<br />marketed the project beyond its three exist-
<br />ing firms. Even so, there is a waiting list,
<br />and Kuleck gets "more of the local entre-
<br />preneurial-type feelers than new Iocators.'
<br />
<br />Incubator developers need to be patient
<br />and realistic about funding and redevelop-
<br />ment timetables. "We won't start another
<br />until we have this one working as it should:'
<br />says Kuleck.
<br />
<br />Warren: Downtown Retail Revitalization
<br />
<br />Liberty Street Marketplace in Warren, Penn-
<br />sylvania (pop. 12,000), is located in the cen-
<br />tral business district in a vacated Kresge
<br />department store. The project is directed by
<br />Rick Weekland and the Warren-Forest
<br />Counties Economic Opportunity Council.
<br />
<br />The Council, a community action agency,
<br />blended $80,000 in local and ARC funds
<br />with a $310,000 shared mortgage from two
<br />community banks to subdivide the store
<br />into small retail units. Not only is the in-
<br />cubator unique because of its mission to
<br />the "hole" in downtown retail, you also
<br />won't find the below*market rents that
<br />incubators feature. The council "didn't wa'~t
<br />to be in the business of doing this forever;'
<br />said Weekland; "We didn't want artificial
<br />supports for the tenant companies:'
<br />
<br /> Thirteen tenants occupy the building, with
<br /> three more on the way. All are from the War-
<br /> ren area; four are offshoots of firms from
<br />
<br />
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