ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 22, 1996 TAG: 9606240039
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
Organizers of Roanoke's new small-business incubator said Friday they will operate the facility on Eighth Street Southwest in the former corporate offices of Advance Stores Inc.
An incubator is a facility that can accommodate several existing small businesses or entrepreneurial start-ups. Operators of the facility provide shared services designed to help the businesses get on their feet before having to go it alone.
Lisa Ison, president of the Blue Ridge Small Business Development Center Inc. and the incubator manager, said the center paid $80,000 and borrowed $245,000 from Crestar Bank to cover the $325,000 purchase price of the offices near Wasena Park. The building contains 29,000 square feet and has parking for more than 170 vehicles.
Advance Stores, parent of the Advance Auto Parts chain, last year moved its corporate headquarters to Roanoke County.
Volunteers, led by accountant Hope Player and city economic developer Phil Sparks, and with the support of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, have worked at least seven years to bring the incubator from planning to reality. The project was endorsed by the New Century Council in its plan for the region's future.
Small-business tenants will be able to use the incubator for up to three years, Ison said. They will pay market-value rent, but the price will cover a number of business services such as telephone answering, a common reception area, a shared fax and copier, housekeeping, building security and a resource library.
Also available will be a shared kitchen, training and conference rooms and hired secretarial services, Ison said.
The incubator, she said, will accommodate 15 to 20 businesses in spaces ranging from 82 square feet to 2,400 square feet.
Ison acknowledged that the property is in the Roanoke River flood plain but said Advance Stores had remodeled the building after a destructive flood in 1985 and raised the wiring in the building.
Incubator supporters have raised $490,000 through the Virginia General Assembly, the Virginia Center for Innovative Technology and federal grant funds administered by the city of Roanoke for the down payment on the building and to finance its operation. Furniture, equipment and services necessary to get the incubator up and running have been contributed by American Electric Power Co., Crestar Bank, Environmental Directions Inc., Office Suppliers Inc., Stanley Steemer and Trigon Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
The center is expected to open July 25. Several applications for space have been received, some from people out of state who are interested in moving to Roanoke, Ison said.
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: The incubator is expected to open July 25 in the formerby CNBcorporate offices of Advance Stores Co.