Tech incubator to expand

BYLINE: Sarah Colwell, The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Jan. 19--The Colorado Springs Technology Incubator will expand into a larger building at Fountain and Academy boulevards to accommodate more small technology businesses that specialize in homeland security and defense, the nonprofit announced Thursday.

"The space and defense sector has a lot of opportunity. There is far more demand there than we can meet currently," said Mike

Kazmierski, president and chief executive officer with the Colorado Springs Economic Development Corp., which donated for the building purchase.

"This gives us the opportunity to facilitate our other homeland defense-base companies in the Springs. We are the national headquarters for homeland defense for the military with NorthcCom (United States Northern Command)being here, and there is a lot of activity surrounding that," he said.

The building at 3595 E. Fountain Blvd. ishas about 22,000 square feet, according to the El Paso County assessor's database. That's more than five times the size of the incubator's current space at Union Boulevard and Austin Bluffs Parkway.

The new location also puts the incubator closer to defense-related companies in the southeast part of the Springs.

The incubator is a nonprofit organization that provides office space, consulting and other services to help technology start-ups grow.

In exchange for its services, the incubator gets an ownership stake in the small companies. The incubator later sells that stake for a profit to support itself. The incubator is also supported by city, state and federal grants.

The incubator is expected to keep its current offices near the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs for start-ups in other industries, said Brian Burnett, vice chancellor for administration and finance with UCCS. The university has been an incubator partner.

The incubator received a $450,000 government grant to purchase the $900,000 building at Fountain and Academy boulevards, Kazmierski said. If thesite remains an incubator for at least 10 years, the nonprofit will not have to pay back the grant, Kazmierski said.

The EDC board gave $100,000 to the nonprofit toward purchasing the building because the mission of the incubator is in line with the EDC's economic strategy,

Kazmierski said. The defense industry was made a focus for the incubator in 2005.

"If we don't have an environment that allows them to grow here, they will grow some- where else," he said.

Tenants will move in as soon as a renovation is completed, Kazmierski said.

"It's a lot more than a building," he said. "It's a community attitude toward start-ups. And it's an opportunity to seize on ideas and grow them into quality jobs for our community."

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