Janesville awarded $1.2 million for small-business incubator
Photo 
Victor Grassman
JANESVILLE — Janesville is getting in the business of growing businesses.
The city was awarded a $1.2 million federal construction grant to build a small-business incubator. The city has agreed to a 25-percent match of $400,000.
The grant is “significant,” said Vic Grassman, the city’s economic development director.
The money will build a 24,000 square-foot facility on 4.17 acres of city-owned industrial land located at 2901 Beloit Ave on the southeast corner of Venture Drive and Beloit Avenue. The facility will be open to manufacturing tenants and will include about 4,000 square feet of office space and 20,000 square feet of open space.
The Rock County Small Business Incubation and Innovation Center could be open by late next year.
“This is very cool,” Grassman said.
A business incubator provides a physical business front for entrepreneurs, including minimal space needs, conference rooms and other business amenities. The spaces will be about 1,500 to 2,000 square feet, which are difficult to find for manufacturing purposes, Grassman said.
Adjustable walls can move as the businesses outgrow their spaces. The companies typically leave after a couple of years to open space for other fledgling businesses, Grassman said.
About 70 percent of the building would be leased, leaving space for expansions.
Grassman believes the area has the entrepreneurs to fill the space.
Organizers of a small business contest were pleasantly surprised when 22 existing small businesses or emerging start-ups qualified for an “accelerate your business plan contest” sponsored by Rock County 5.0, a five-year public/private initiative with a goal to reposition and revitalize the county’s economy.
Eighteen remain in the program, and a winner will be named in October, Grassman said.
The incubator is the final leg of a three-legged stool, Grassman said. About 80 percent of all new jobs are created by small businesses, he said. A small business in this case is defined by having 100 employees or less.
Business attraction along with retention and expansion represent the other legs.
The city would manage the incubator and, depending on cash flow, might hire a part-time manager in the future.
Grassman is “cautiously optimistic” the incubator will operate in the black in less than two years.
Janesville’s application was approved by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration.
The grant is funded through the Community Trade Adjustment Assistance Program under the 2009 Trade and Globalization Assistance Act, which is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Funds are meant to go to communities that have suffered severe job losses due to international trade impacts.
Mar 1, 2011 at 10:45 a.m.
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Why build a new building with all of the vacant industrial buildings available for a song?? 24000 SQ FT is not alot of space...
Feb 28, 2011 at 1:21 p.m.
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"tiredofhearingit: You're probably right. The free market has been so effective at creating jobs around here that there isn't anybody left to hire. All hail the free market, because the free market is perfect! We love the free market for all it has done to, I mean, for, us."
Just like 45 plus years of federal social entitlements has cured society of poverty, the uneducated, racism, etc.
Feb 28, 2011 at 1:03 p.m.
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Thank you, Janesvillean. I will be sure to pass along the information so that they can utilize the information! I am not sure if they are aware of it, but would be greatly appreciative of having the information passed on!
Feb 28, 2011 at 12:20 p.m.
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SuperDave, this is a grant program open to any community in the United States. The Janesville application was one of about 50 approved during the 2010 funding round.
http://www.eda.gov/InvestmentsGrants/Com...
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Browns76, I would not expect that an auto shop would be the type of business that could make use of an incubator, which primarily provides office communications and support facilities. The auto shop would of course be eligible for several other programs if they contact the city, which assists in finding funding and completing applications.
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tiredofhearingit: You're probably right. The free market has been so effective at creating jobs around here that there isn't anybody left to hire. All hail the free market, because the free market is perfect! We love the free market for all it has done to, I mean, for, us.
Feb 28, 2011 at 10:55 a.m.
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What about the other small businesses in Jville that are trying to start up? I know there's a new auto shop down at W. Delavan and S. Jackson. Are they going to be made aware of money that is available to them?
Sep 24, 2010 at 9:30 a.m.
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Isn't it wonderful that the federal government can give away a million dollars? You don't suppose there was any backroom deals involved, do you? Oh, and thanks, China! We'll pay it back, with interest. Maybe.
Sep 23, 2010 at 8:42 p.m.
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ya.. new businesses in wisconsin, under a democatic president and a democrate governor...BUT WAIT democrates HATE business... im confused
Sep 23, 2010 at 1 p.m.
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Here we go again, more government involvement - WHY? Isn't that what a free market is supposed to do.
Grassman is “cautiously optimistic” the incubator will operate in the black in less than two years.
- really?! I'm sure if this were true there are plenty of Private Investors / existing building owners out there willing to make the investment & leave taxpayers out of it.
What happens in 10-15 years when building repairs are needed - do we then get to subsidize it again? only then it will be on the local taxpayers. Round and Round we go.
Sep 23, 2010 at 11:58 a.m.
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I don't kmow why they would build new when the money could be used to adapt existing square footage to their needs.
There is still some vacant industrial space in Janesville, right?
Sep 22, 2010 at 9:32 p.m.
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This is a great thing. I worked for a small start up company in Madison that started in this kind of incubator. I have since left, but they grew to employ over 40 people in well paying professional jobs.
This money is well spent and if we can retain some of the smart people leaving our universities and technical colleges in Rock county that have big ideas and no place to setup shop in our post-industrial town, we all benefit.
Sep 22, 2010 at 8:49 p.m.
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Maybe they can pour a sheet of ice in it.
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