The Airport Area Chamber of Commerce's long-awaited business incubator will soon become reality.
The chamber has partnered with DiCicco Development Inc. to build a one-story, 50,000-square-foot building in the Cherrington Commerce Park in Moon, officials with DiCicco and the chamber said Wednesday. Construction of the facility, near the intersection of Beaver Grade and Ewing roads, will begin in the spring.
Chamber President Sally Haas said she has been trying to secure funding and a partner for the project for several years and had to turn away businesses seeking such space. Previously discussed locations included the Imperial Business Park in North Fayette.
"This is a key initiative in growing and retaining business in the airport corridor," Haas said. "Statistics show that 87 percent of businesses that begin in an incubator stay in business well beyond five years."
A business incubator rents ready-to-use office space to fledgling enterprises, allowing them to focus on building their business rather than shopping around for affordable office space.
"Especially with the downturn in the economy, people need an environment that provides them with a lot of the things that otherwise they'd have to be investing in on the front end," Haas said. "This gives them that infrastructure."
Haas and DiCicco principal Sam DiCicco Jr. presented tentative plans for the building to the Allegheny County Redevelopment Authority's board of directors. The board approved authorization to pass through a $1 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program construction grant for the project. The grant comes from Gov. Ed Rendell's Office of the Budget.
DiCicco will match the grant, Haas said.
The incubator also might be used by out-of-town or international businesses scoping out the region for possible expansion, she said. The incubator will be in a state-designated Keystone Innovation Zone, which offers new businesses operating there up to $100,000 in tax credits and eligibility for certain state grants.
DiCicco said the incubator can be configured for one or several tenants, as needed.
Randy Forister, senior development director of the Allegheny County Airport Authority, which manages the Imperial Business Park, said he is excited about the deal.
"It's a forward-thinking project with a lot of elements that will help bring new businesses to Southwest Pennsylvania," he said.
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