Janesville incubator to hatch young businesses
Excerpted from Janesville Gazette
By Jim Leute
City and community leaders turned ceremonial shovels of dirt Tuesday on a four-acre parcel that later this year will be home to the Janesville Innovation Center.
They hope the business incubator will hatch companies that might someday fill 225 acres of city-owned land a few hundred yards away.
In 2010, the federal Economic Development Administration awarded the city $1.2 million for the 22,000-square-foot project on Venture Drive.
The city is kicking in $850,000 for the facility that will offer a combination of manufacturing and office space for lease to new and growing businesses.
When it’s finished in November, the innovation center will feature nine office suites and four production areas that range from 4,000 to 6,000 square feet. Movable walls will separate the production areas.
“Flexibility with those production areas is the name of the game,” said Vic Grassman, the city’s economic development director.
Grassman said a flexible building and environment will support local businesses and lead to the creation of new companies and jobs in Janesville.
