Washington Area Business Incubator changes venue
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
The former O’Reilly’s Auto store on East Chestnut Street will be the site of the Washington Area Business Incubator.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
The former O’Reilly’s Auto store on East Chestnut Street will be the site of the Washington Area Business Incubator.
The Washington Area Business Incubator is changing locations to the former O’Reilly’s Auto store on East Chestnut Street.
The incubator, which was launched in 2016 as a partnership between Washington & Jefferson College, the Observer-Reporter and the city of Washington, had been planned for the newspaper’s former circulation building on South Main Street. That plan has since changed, according to Max Miller, director of the incubator.
“The advisory board didn’t take this decision lightly because they wanted to have a presence right on Main Street,” he said. “There’s been a lot of back and forth on where it should be located. The long-term viability and finances were more compelling for the O’Reilly building.”
Miller said plans were delayed initially after the change in newspaper ownership in late 2018, when the Northrop family sold the Observer-Reporter to Ogden Newspapers. Eventually, the incubator advisory board concluded that the former circulation building would have required a lot of renovations and infrastructure work, Miller said.
“The O’Reilly building is in much better shape than the circulation building because it’s younger,” he said.
Miller also said there will be no need to negotiate a lease agreement after the initial 10 years of operation since the college owns the O’Reilly property. The original plan called for the newspaper to provide the building to the college rent-free for the first 10 years.
“The college is allowing the incubator to use the building rent-free,” he said. “It gives us more flexibility. We were looking for a space that was as sustainable as possible.”
The college serves as the fiscal agent for the incubator, accepting grant money for programming and the building project.
The incubator has received $250,000 in Local Share Account funds, $500,000 in Redevelopment Assistance Program money, $100,000 from Innovation Works, and about $500,000 in private donations and alumni donations, all specifically for construction, Miller said. None of the funding will be affected by the change of location, he said.
The O’Reilly building will provide the incubator with more than 6,000 square feet. Miller said the board still needs to meet with the architect to “align the space with the programming” before its ready to announce an opening date or begin construction.
“We need to go over the demolition part of it and work on getting the shell the way it needs to be,” Miller said. “Then we’ll do the design and build-out.”
Miller said the goal is to convert it into a space for small businesses to test their markets or for companies to have a meeting place.
“Some of these companies may be working out of their home and they need to meet with a client,” Miller said. “They may need physical space or their own office space.”
The plan calls for some open spaces, desk spaces and different tiers of privacy, such as closed offices and conference rooms. They would be available to rent for a drop-in fee or fixed rent. The majority of the space will be open to allow for entrepreneurs to be around other business owners and enable ideas and collaboration to grow.
“That’s the practical element of all this,” Miller said. “It’s a platform for idea-forming, and a place to connect with other people who are also trying to grow their businesses. When starting a small business, you can feel like you’re on an island, but when you get into these types of spaces, you come across people going through the same things.”
Miller, who’s also the entrepreneurial studies director for W&J, said the incubator is in its second year of programming, during which it’s served 12 companies.
“That’s something for us to be really proud of,” he said.
The four-week program, called Ideas to Enterprise, helps companies develop a business plan before pitching it to WABI board members. The business plans are judged and winners receive a cash prize. Miller said he usually keeps in touch with the business owners after the program to check in on their progress and connect them with the right resources.
“I think the critical thing is that though the location has changed, the vision has not,” Miller said. “It’s about supporting new businesses, connecting them with opportunities and creating an empowerment for small businesses.”