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Public/Private
Incubator Produces Redevelopment
By Judi Dohn, Director; Henderson
Business Resource Center
History
Henderson, Nevada was founded to produce magnesium for World War II. The
town's infrastructure was created quickly; buildings were small and few
were multi-story. Over the years, Henderson grew from those small beginnings
of 1000 houses to become the second largest city in Nevada with 25 master-planned
communities and a population of over 220,000. It is located in the fastest
growing metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the country (Las Vegas/Clark
County). At the same time, the original core of the city, while still
the primary source of city services, was in danger of being left behind
as the population moved west into newer communities.
In 1999, the Henderson Chamber of Commerce Foundation,
a 501c(3) corporation, set out to create a business incubator to encourage
business formation and to help revitalize "old Henderson," which
was part of a large redevelopment area. The foundation originally considered
building a small annex onto the existing chamber of commerce building.
However, it was quickly determined that space would be too small to house
both a support program and incubator facility; and raising money to finance
a new building was not feasible. Still, the mayor and the city council
wanted to keep the facility within the redevelopment area. The search
shifted focus to existing buildings and soon settled on a 15,000 square
foot building with 18-foot high ceilings, owned and occupied by Wells
Fargo Bank.
Wells Fargo was going through a transition of taking
banking to their customers and creating smaller, more accessible branch
offices. The mayor and city council, while enthusiastically supporting
the business resource center and incubator concept, did not want to loose
a major banking presence in downtown Henderson. So negotiations with the
bank began with the statement, "we want you to stay in the building."
The final result was a win for both the bank and the city. The interior
of the building was completely renovated, with the bank crafting a smaller,
more inviting space for their customers in one-third the original space.
The chamber foundation leased the remaining 10,000 square feet, creating
a vibrant new presence in the downtown redevelopment area. Once the building
was secured, the foundation had to raise funds to complete the improvements
to its portion of the site. Further solidifying the public/private nature
of this project, tenant improvement funds were contributed by the city
of Henderson, the county commissioners, the Community College of Southern
Nevada and the Henderson Public Improvement Trust, whose revenue comes
from the bonds issued for major construction projects within Henderson
city limits.
Partnerships
The Henderson Business Resource Center opened in June 2001 with the help
of several partners. To fulfill the center's mission of serving new and
growing businesses, partnerships were formed with several strategic partners,
which include the Community College of Southern Nevada, the Nevada Small
Business Development Center, SCORE, the Nevada MicroEnterprise Initiative
and the Henderson district public library.
The community college agreed to build out, equip
and staff a computer training room at the site that would be managed by
its continuing and extended learning division. The training room has 12
networked computers that are linked back to the college through its Internet
connection. Courses available at this site range from those requested
by individual companies to open enrollment classes offered from morning
through evening hours. Also domiciled in the resource center, the Nevada
Small Business Development Center, SCORE and the Nevada MicroEnterprise
Initiative will bring their training and counseling services to Henderson
redevelopment area and the center's clients. The Henderson district public
library provides seminars to increase the client's knowledge of on-line
databases and will be installing video conference links this fall. All
partners participate on the center's advisory board, which meets once
a quarter to discuss issues and review progress. Through the array of
services provided, the resource center is able to reach a range of clients,
from applicants who have a dream of a business and little else to tenants
and graduates, as well as affiliates with already established businesses
who need support as they grow. In order to nurture prospective tenants
while they are waiting for space to become available, a 'pipeline' program
was created that enables prospective tenants to avail themselves of some
of the center's services. And to help create a more seamless transition
from the center to the real world, graduating tenants retain ongoing access
to the center's services for as long as they need them.
Progress
The Henderson Business Resource Center just celebrated its second year
of operation, after an especially challenging first year following the
events of September 11, 2001, which took an enormous toll on the southern
Nevada community and its major industry, tourism. As with any small business,
the center had to ensure its survival first and foremost, which meant
putting some initiatives on hold and working closely with partners to
fill all the available spaces. The first incubator tenant graduated this
spring, after outgrowing their 382 square foot space by hiring a fifth
staffer.
As the center continues to support new businesses,
which then graduate into the surrounding community, the vision of revitalizing
"old Henderson" is being realized. The benefits are already
numerous, including increased traffic to the downtown area and existing
businesses, locally available support services for neighboring businesses
and a renewed interest by businesses in locating to the downtown area.
Neighboring storefronts, in partnership with the city's facade improvement
program, have become more inviting. Center management attends the downtown
association's meetings and serves as a liaison between the partner service
providers and the association. Center tenants are also part of the association,
creating another tie both into and out to the local business community.
For further information about the center's development
and operation or about opportunities to support the center, please contact
Judi Dohn at 702/992-7200.
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