With Grant in Place, Incubator in Business

On Friday the state Bond Commission approved a $5 million grant for the development of the 40,000 square foot Hamden Business Incubator, located 496 Newhall St. and owned and operated by the Hamden Economic Development Corporation. 

The town building has been mostly abandoned since the early 2000s.

“We are so pleased to hear such great news”, said Dale Kroop, Executive Director of the HEDC.

The facility will be home to up 20 companies, most with less than 10 employees, that will create jobs and increase the tax base, Kroop said. 

“Small business is the engine of the Hamden economy. They create most of the new jobs and are the backbone of sustained tax base growth," Kroop said. "Our business incentives and business retention program are perfectly suited for the Hamden Business Incubator because we try and create a culture of success."

The Incubator will be designed to accelerate the successful development of entrepreneurial companies through shared business support resources and services, developed and orchestrated by incubator management and offered both in the incubator and through its network of contacts. Successful completion of a business incubation program increases the likelihood that a start-up or newer small businesses will stay in business for the long term, Kroop said — historically, more than 75 percent of incubator graduates stay in business.

The Incubator will be located in the heart of the Highwood/Newhall neighborhood, located less one mile from the city of New Haven and close to I91 and I95. The project is projected to create up to 40 jobs in the short term (one year), 80 in the medium term (3 years) and 125+ in the longer term (five years), Kroop said, and will generate more than $2 million in annual payroll in the short term and eventually generate new annual tax revenue to the town as the companies grow. 

The HEDC will provide common services to business located in the Incubator to help them reduce the cost of overhead, making them more profitable, Kroop said, include reception, parking, rest rooms, WIFI, conference space and security. 

"Their leaner operations will make them more able to efficiently collaborate with other local and regional businesses and other institutions such as the many universities and colleges in the region," Kroop said.

It is envisioned that tenants of the Hamden Business Incubator will include web designers and programmers, professional services, medical form administrators, small manufacturers and other lighter industry providers.  Each business will lease former classrooms and other areas within the former school.

It is anticipated the new facility will open in 2014.

For more information, contact Kroop at 203-287-7033 or at dkroop@hamden.com, and visit the Hamden Economic Development Corporation Facebook page for ongoing reports on the progress of this project and others.