A century-old Newhallville school and community center will be reborn for a second time this summer when it opens its doors as the new Hamden Business Incubator.
The new facility, slated to open some time next month, will house some 39,000 square feet of space to be occupied primarily by small-business startups. It will offer below-market rents and shared infrastructure and services to be used by tenants, who also will have access to onsite business mentors available to consult with entrepreneurs.
The facility is being redeveloped by the Hamden Economic Development Corp., which owns and will manage the enterprise. The HEDC is headed by Dale Kroop, the town’s director of economic and community development.
When completed, the total cost for the project will top out at about $12 million. According to Kroop, about 50 percent of that sum will come from various state sources, 30 percent from federal dollars, primarily the U.S. Department of Commerce, and about 20 percent from historic tax credits. Guilford Savings Bank has provided a bridge loan to complete construction before the tax credits can be applied.
Kroop added that the town of Hamden has no money in the project. The town sold the building to the HEDC in 2009 for $1.
Built in 1917 as the Newhall School, the original structure cost about $40,000. Following its most recent incarnation as the Newhall Community Center, the facility was shuttered around 2001 due to asbestos contamination. The building sat vacant for nearly a decade before it was acquired by the HEDC in 2009. In 2013 it was placed on the Connecticut Register of Historic Places.
Leasable space includes the first two stories, plus the gymnasium, built as an addition to the original structure in 1941, to be used for light manufacturing space. Kroop says he expects about 60 percent of projected leasable space to come online by the end of July.
While Kroop has informally shown the under-construction project to potential tenants, formal showings will likely not begin until next month. “The problem is that when you’re still in the middle of construction it can be counterproductive to show it” to potential tenants, Kroop said. He added that active marketing of the project will likely not begin for “several weeks.”
Regarding the target audience of potential tenants, Kroop says that light manufacturing, white-collar tech and some service-y type businesses” are the likeliest prospects for the near-term.
In addition, “We have a gymnasium, built in 1941, with strong structural loads and high ceilings [attached to the main school building],” Kroop said. “And we see that building being [suited to] light manufacturing.”
Moreover, Kroop envisions a workforce-development “ecosystem” for the incubator, which will have training and other programs offered by area schools and colleges on site. “Workforce [development] is one of the biggest issues now,” said Kroop.
