Incubator projects move forward

COLFAX - The Downtown Association recently updated where they're at with their small business incubators that received funding in November 2022.

"It's been a wild ride," Colfax Downtown Association Executive Director Whitney Bond said, adding that they just closed on and purchased the Washington Federal Bank (WaFd) location.

At their first location, they would have had to undergo seismic renovations on the property. Due to Washington State code regulations, if they renovated over fifty percent, it would have cost an additional one million dollars.

After networking with local entities and property investors, Bond stated that Scott Ackerman suggested they buy the WaFd property. They purchased it as a restaurant incubator.

"Our first location will remain an incubator for service and retail industries," Bond added.

Bond also shared that they will get their project extended until June 2024.

"Kim DeHart is going to be housed on our first floor on the north side of the building," she explained, adding that DeHart was recently operating out of Pairings and wanted to extend her seeding capacity.

Pairings were also planning to extend their art gallery, so DeHart wanted to find a place to go and now will be one of the incubator's first tenants.

Colfax business CoCo Bee also has outgrown its current space, Bond explained, adding that the business will move into the south side of the first floor of the incubator.

"She was looking to buy in Pullman," Bond said, "So we're very happy to retain these businesses on the first floor of our incubator and not lose them locally."

Bond stated that plans are still in the works, though, and they hope to have CoCo Bee and The Cellar operating with their doors back open in August.

"August is our goal," Bond said, adding that they will also be soliciting applications for their restaurant incubator sometime this fall.

Bond is excited to move forward on the projects, mentioning that they're just plugging away trying to get the first incubator updated.

"We plan to remove the shrubbery and landscaping out in front of WaFd, and replace it with a concrete slab so we can have an outdoor dining area," Bond said, adding that she is excited to do this, hopefully, something pretty with lights and a patio for everyone to enjoy.

An incubator is a workspace created to offer business startups and new ventures access to resources that they'd need. It also provides resident companies with access to advisors, mentors, administrative support, office equipment, training, and potential investors.

Colfax Downtown Association received $2,259,820 from the Washington State Department of Commerce Small Business Innovation Fund (SBIF) grants, ranging from $500,000 to $5 million, coming out to a total of $32.5 million grants awarded to 22 different projects out of over 120 proposals in November 2022.

The SBIF funds awarded funded a variety of activities, including small business incubators and accelerators, support for local procurement initiatives, improvements to physical workspaces in response to public health requirements or acts of vandalism, support for small business competitiveness programs focusing on hiring and retention, as well as projects increasing small business's ability to succeed and thrive.