• Become an SSTI Member

    As the most comprehensive resource available for those involved in technology-based economic development, SSTI offers the services that are needed to help build tech-based economies.  Learn more about membership...

  • Subscribe to the SSTI Weekly Digest

    Each week, the SSTI Weekly Digest delivers the latest breaking news and expert analysis of critical issues affecting the tech-based economic development community. Subscribe today!

Incubators in the News

April 25, 2003

Florida Incubators Form Alliance to Expand Services

The Seminole Technology Business Incubation Center (STBIC) and the University of Central Florida Technology Incubator have partnered, and the benefits are expected to be widespread, the Orlando Sentinel recently reported. STBIC – a joint venture of Seminole County, Seminole County Port Authority and Seminole Community College – is supported by grants from NASA and the Technological Research and Development Authority, which sponsors Florida programs that enhance education and economic development. Eight companies already are housed by SBTIC, but up to 15 more are expected to join in the next year.

The UCF incubator, since opening in 1999, has grown from 12 to more than 30 companies, which have generated more than 400 new jobs and more than $100 million in revenues from sales and research and development grants. The incubator consists of more than 70,000 sq. ft., with locations in the Central Florida Research Park, adjacent to the UCF campus in East Orlando, and in Downtown Orlando.

Both incubators assist technology-based companies in the early stages of development. Their agreement is expected to result in greater shared access to resources, with UCF opening offices in STBIC.

Fourth, Fifth Enterprise Centers Slated for St. Louis Counties

With three centers already providing business incubation services, the St. Louis County Economic Council has announced two more St. Louis Enterprise Centers are in the works, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. One of them is slated to open in October 2003 in Wellston, MO. The second, or fifth overall, would be built in mid-St. Louis County with $2 million in funding from the Small Business Administration, the article states. Officials are hopeful this incubator will open in 2004. Three existing centers in Chesterfield, Lemay and midtown St. Louis collectively offer 98,000 sq. ft. in office, retail and warehouse/production space for up to 110 companies.

Incubator in Arlington, TX Secures $1.4M in Federal Funding

Little more than 12 months after its opening the Arlington Technology Incubator has secured a $1.4 million grant to help purchase a 22,000-square-foot building, the Fort Worth Star Telegram reported earlier this month. A joint venture between the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and the University of Texas at Arlington, the incubator won the grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to help pay for the 3-story building known as the Border Center. UT Arlington, which is under contract to buy the building in June, will fund 20 percent of the cost, the article observes. The incubator serves to link the research capability of the university with the business community in order to develop commercial opportunity.

Maryland Incubator Will Focus on Homeland Security Technology

Anne Arundel County in Maryland will have its first business incubator when the Chesapeake Innovation Center (CIC) opens in June. With the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation (AAEDC) as the lead agency, the CIC will have as one of its primary focuses the development of firms specializing in homeland security technology. The center is in the process of developing partnerships with federal agencies, universities and key corporations as it seeks to develop new companies in the communications and information technology sectors. CIC is projected to open in a 24,000 square-foot facility in Annapolis at a cost of more than $1 million over the next three years to Anne Arundel County. Fifteen start-up companies are expected to take up residence in the first year. AAEDC is a nonprofit corporation that provides economic development services for Anne Arundel County.

Florida