Ypsilanti may be getting the economic spark it needs. And Eastern Michigan would play a key role in that development.
Ann Arbor SPARK recently announced that it plans to locate a "SPARK East" office as a start-up business incubator in downtown Ypsilanti. The incubator will open sometime in September and be home to a number of high-tech, start-up companies. Such businesses typically reside in the business incubator setting for up to two years before moving to larger office space. The incubator will be located in the Smith Furniture Building at 15 S. Washington St.
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INCUBATOR LOCATION: The old Smith Furniture
building, located at 15 S. Washington St. in Ypsilanti,
is the site where Ann Arbor SPARK plans to locate
a business incubator for high-tech start-up
businesses. Eastern Michigan University has pledged
$60,000 annually for each of the next five years to
assist with operating costs for the incubator, which is
scheduled to open Sept. 1. In return, EMU's Center
for Entrepreneurship, within the College of Business,
would place its students in internships with these
companies.
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"They will all be high-tech companies," said David Mielke, dean of Eastern Michigan University's College of Business. "The objective with our incubator is to have a credible amount of businesses, accentuate their development and move them out to other locations. It's really the first economic development priority in a long time that is east of U.S. 23. This is a big boost for eastern Washtenaw County."
Ann Arbor SPARK, which would oversee the Ypsilanti incubator, has a mission to advance the economic development of innovation-based businesses in the Ann Arbor region by offering programs, resources and proactive support to business at every stage, from start-ups to large organizations looking for expansion opportunities.
The organization already has incubator sites in downtown Ann Arbor and a wet lab site in the Traverwood Business Park on the northeast side of Ann Arbor. Eastern Michigan, which has pledged $60,000 annually for each of the next five years toward operating costs, also will provide support through its Center for Entrepreneurship. Washtenaw County has pledged $50,000 annually, DTE Energy will contribute $25,000 each year and the City of Ypsilanti will provide $15,000. Ypsilanti Township is considering contributing $15,000 over three years toward the incubator.
Approximately $60,000 is still needed to fund operations for the business incubator, Greg Fronizer, director of finance and administration at Ann Arbor SPARK, recently told the Ann Arbor News.
"I expect us to be very involved in the incubator through our entrepreneurship center and work to get internships for our students with companies using the incubator," Mielke said. "We have a very strong entrepreneurship program, with more than 50 students in the major program, 20 in the minor and another 15-20 at the graduate level."
Each student majoring in entrepreneurship is required to take a business practicum before they graduate and the incubator provides ideal opportunities for students to obtain valuable experience with such companies through internships. With any luck, some EMU students would eventually be hired to work full-time for these start-ups, Mielke added.
The Smith Furniture Building has approximately 23,000 square feet. At roughly 400 square feet per business, Mielke said the building could handle upwards of 20 companies.
In December 2007, the EMU Board of Regents approved the allocation of $60,000 per year for five years for the business incubator project that is part of the collaboration entitled the Eastern Washtenaw Leaders Group. The purpose of the group is to help stimulate economic development in eastern Washtenaw County.
Eastern Michigan University and Washtenaw County government are serving as leaders for the group, which includes Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor SPARK, Ypsilanti Chamber of Commerce, local government staff, county commissioners and elected officials from the City of Ypsilanti, and Ypsilanti, Superior and Pittsfield townships.
"It will take five years to really see how things are working," Mielke said. "Over a five-year period, we'd like to graduate half a dozen companies within Washtenaw County. That gives us enough time to test the concept."
