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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Progress and Setbacks for Valley Business Incubators

Despite the greater San Fernando Valley area being home to a host of innovative companies, the region has yet to offer local entrepreneurs a fully functioning business incubator. And that doesn’t appear to be changing in the immediate future, at least for one proposed incubator. Financing for the Gold Coast Bio Center, a “bio accelerator” at 29901 Agoura Road in Agoura Hills, has stalled, according to founder, Brent Reinke. The proposed 19,000 square foot facility will provide office, wet lab and other support services to start-ups and established life sciences companies. Founders signed a letter of intent to secure the building, and the property owner agreed to pay for 90 percent of the build-out. But financing from a major bank for the build-out has yet to be seen, said Reinke, adding the Bio Center is a private venture and founders and the landlord are likely going to have to prove its financial viability before the bank commits funds. “That’s where we’re at is waiting for feedback from the third party lender,” said Reinke, adding, however, it’s encouraging that the lender is taking the project seriously. “Given the economic conditions, we had anticipated this would be a big hurdle,” he said. “And we’re clearly going to have to get comfortable with conditions for financing.” Reinke said the Gold Coast Bio Center is generating interest from local start-ups as well as established life sciences companies out of state. Founders chose to not pursue public financing because they wanted more flexibility in running the business, he said. If funding comes through soon, Reinke said the bio accelerator will be marketed nationally and it could open by the beginning of next year. The long term goal is to spur growth of a life sciences cluster in the area. Other Valley incubators are moving forward however. The 10,000 square foot I3 Advanced Technology Incubator at College of the Canyons in the Santa Clarita Valley is slated to open in September, according to Douglas Howe, interim director of the incubator. “We have been working on marketing, web site development, networking with tech groups and connecting with the city,” said Howe. “The ultimate goal is for small companies to graduate from the incubator and move into the surrounding community.” The incubator is targeting bio technology, nano technology, aerospace, IT and entertainment start-ups. It will offer office space, shared support services, mentoring, access to industry professionals and interns, and introductions to potential investors. Howe said the incubator sans physical facility is already working with four entrepreneurs. One is preparing to close on a round of seed funding and has expressed interest in leasing space in the new facility. Others are in the business planning stage. “We’re focusing on assisting local companies (from Santa Clarita Valley, Antelope Valley and San Fernando Valley) because we put a value on working with them face-to-face,” said Howe. The San Fernando Valley Financial Development Corporation also recently closed on the purchase of land at 13420-13426 Van Nuys Blvd for the Pacoima Entrepreneurship and Training Center. Developers expect to break ground on the 10,000 square foot facility by year’s end. Once completed, the incubator will be open to start-ups in a variety of industries, said Julie Fonseca, economic development director for the Valley Economic Development Center. “We have been helping businesses for the past 30 years and realized the need was out there for an incubator,” said Fonseca, adding but the price of real estate made it impossible to pursue. “When real estate prices dropped, we went for it.” Establishing business incubators is also part of the North Los Angeles County Economic Development Plan, she said, an economic development strategy for Burbank, Lancaster, Palmdale, San Fernando, Santa Clarita and other cities in the San Fernando Valley. The $5 million project is being funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, The Prudential Foundation, and Clearinghouse CDFI. The Valley Economic Development Center is providing development services.

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