More options coming for help in starting, growing a Beaufort business

On Carteret Street, evidence of a former bank lobby has disappeared, a sleek new tech space prepared to take its place.

On Bladen Street, a new three-story building, complete with an art gallery and commercial kitchen, is getting finishing touches.

And, an underutilized space in City Hall could soon receive a new tenant.

There are about to be more options for those looking to start or grow a business in northern Beaufort County.

Variations of business incubation services will be found at the Beaufort Digital Corridor, in the new Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce building and by way of a possible satellite office of the Don Ryan Center for Innovation.

Beaufort County Black Chamber president and CEO Larry Holman said he had hoped to partner with the city on the incubator and that the appearance now is that the groups are in competition. Those championing the new programs say each addresses different needs.

“What’s exciting is if you’re an entrepreneur or innovator and looking to start a business in Beaufort, we’ll have a facility that will best match your personality or business you’re looking to start,” said City Councilman Stephen Murray, who helped bring the Digital Corridor to Beaufort and is working on the Don Ryan partnership. “The idea is that each one has a unique focus.”

For instance, a technology startup will need the office space and communications infrastructure of the newly renovated space on Carteret Street, Murray said.

The Don Ryan Center offers resources and expertise more than physical space, he noted. The city of Beaufort could partner with the Bluffton-based incubator to replicate the program north of the Broad River, using the former Beaufort History Museum space in City Hall.

The partnership would include office space in City Hall to operate the same program used to aid 28 companies over four years in Bluffton and outreach and educational programs, including a “Girls Who Code” program, according to a proposal.

The partnership proposal went before the city’s Redevelopment Commission last week. Under the proposal, the city would pay to establish the Beaufort satellite office, for marketing efforts and a fixed $1,250 fee for each city-based entrepreneur or business that enrolls in the program. The city would pay another $1,250 for each graduate.

In return, the Don Ryan Center for Innovation would help market the Beaufort Digital Corridor, the venture based at 500 Carteret St. that aims to build and grow technology companies.

The plan will require City Council approval, since it involves leasing city property.

The nonprofit Don Ryan Center answers to a nine-member board appointed by Bluffton Town Council. Center director David Nelems told Beaufort’s Redevelopment Commission last week the new office would look to work with and not compete with similar ventures.

While the incubator program is in the works, the Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce is nearing completion of its new, 15,000-square-foot building on Bladen Street that will include incubator space for new and small businesses.

Holman said the space would be open to white or minority-owned businesses but that one of its objectives would be to replace some of the black-owned businesses lost during the recession.

The first floor will include a community art gallery and a retail space not yet leased.

A second-floor commercial kitchen would offer job training for waitstaff and culinary jobs.

The 5,000-square-foot incubator space on the third floor will include cubicles and open concept office space at nominal monthly rates.

Holman walked through the space Monday and pointed out a breezeway that will double as event space, the large range hood for the commercial kitchen and open walls of the retail space waiting for the right business to come finish them.

Holman said he hopes the incubators can work together.

“I don’t have a problem sitting down and doing this collectively and cohesively,” he said. “I feel, if we do it that way, it will be more meaningful for the whole county.

“We’d be creating jobs. It’s a no-brainer.”

This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 9:49 AM with the headline "More options coming for help in starting, growing a Beaufort business."