Star-Tribune Editorial Board

A business incubator would be an excellent addition to Casper's ongoing effort to attract and build strong businesses.

A young business, like an egg, often needs an incubator to bring the idea to life. The proposed Casper Area Business Innovation Center would host up to 17 businesses at any one time.

The goal of the incubator is to provide not only a building, but to offer assistance to young firms with consultants and professional resources to help them become self-sufficient and profitable.

Some studies indicate that eight out of 10 new businesses fail. The center hopes to reverse those numbers and see 80 percent of the new businesses that participate succeed.

The Casper center would include a variety of business enterprises, including light manufacturing, assembly and services companies, with a strong technology component.

Successful businesses would "graduate" to another location, where they can hopefully thrive on their own, creating space in the incubator for more fledgling operations. It's a formula that's met with proven success in other Wyoming communities, including Cheyenne, where the business incubator is located at Laramie County Community College.

Here, the facility would be located at the former Amoco administration building near the Three Crowns Golf Course on the Platte River Commons. The project is a result of a partnership between the Casper Area Economic Development Alliance, Casper College, the Amoco Reuse Agreement Joint Powers Board, and the Economic Development Joint Powers Board.

(Full disclosure: Star-Tribune Publisher Nathan Bekke is on the CAEDA's board of directors).

The 11,000 square-foot building would need a 30,000 square-foot expansion to be viable for the project. The incubator received a boost last week in the form of the City Council's vote to support a $1.5 million grant application to the Wyoming Business Council to help construct part of the new building.

CAEDA has also asked the City Council to approve giving the incubator $50,000 in 2009 and $100,000 in 2010.

If the council, the Natrona County Commission, and the Amoco Reuse Agreement Joint Powers Board agree to fund the project's initial expenses, CAEDA Executive Director Robert Barnes said the incubator may be able to begin debt-free. That's one condition a consultant said should be met to get the project off to the right start.

The incubator's funding would come from a mix of federal, state and local sources, plus private sector grants. Officials estimate rents and fees from the businesses would make the project self-sufficient within three years.

A business incubator has the potential to create many jobs in the community and help diversify the local economy as it grows small companies. It also offers an additional benefit: the center could help keep young people and entrepreneurs in the community, so they don't have to leave home to test an idea or start a new enterprise.

A proposed business incubator on the Platte River Commons would provide welcome professional expertise.

What do you think?

We welcome viewpoints from our readers on this and other issues.]]->