More than $1.1 million has been raised toward construction of what will become the Argenta Innovation Center in North Little Rock, organizers of the effort said Tuesday.
More than 100 people attended the announcement at Argenta’s Art Connection at 401 E. Fourth St. in North Little Rock. The Argenta Innovation Center will be a renovation and expansion of the Art Connection building.
Organizers hope to raise $2.5 million by the end of the year, with construction to begin after the full amount is collected, said Barry Hyde, chairman of the fundraising committee. Construction would take about five months, Hyde said.
The renovation will expand the building to more than 23,000 square feet, Hyde said.
The Innovation Center will provide education, training, start up and entrepreneurial opportunities. Many cities - such as Boston, New Orleans, Tulsa and Nashville, Tenn. - have been successful in developing innovation hubs, supporters said.
“The hope is that with a center like this, we invest $2.5 million to get up and running and in the next four years, create 250 small businesses with an average of four employee seach,” said Hyde, chief executive officer of construction firm Hydeco Inc. of North Little Rock.
He said he based his projections on what has happened in other cities.
A similar 13-year-old center in New Orleans has added 2,000 jobs in the past 10 years, generating $100 million annually to New Orleans’ economy, Hyde said.
The building will provide space for students, workers and hobbyists.
One area will provide room for entrepreneurs or employees to capitalize on the creative climate and ability to exchange ideas.
Another area will provide high-tech equipment for engineering education for high school or college students during the day and working engineers at night. This area will provide equipment such as computer-generated wood lathes, laser cutters, electronic stations for experimentation and 3-D printers, Hyde said.
A third area is the existing Art Connection area, where North Little Rock High School students learn visual arts and entrepreneurial skills.
“This will be a place for people with great ideas to come together and access the best equipment available that none of them could afford on their own,” said Grant Tennille, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. “But even more importantly, it will put people with great ideas together.”
The Argenta Innovation Center will not be a business incubator, a shared building that provides support with services and occasional monetary assistance, Hyde said.
“This is really trying to create a culture that supports and provides all the things needed for start ups and creativity in new products,” Hyde said.
Business, Pages 25 on 07/31/2013