University preparing new business center

Renovation work on the former First Baptist Church education building on Broadway regularly draws the attention of passing motorists. But when the work on the $850,000 project is completed this summer, Southeast Missouri State University expects the big attraction to be what's happening inside the school's new business innovation center.

"The whole concept is to create an environment to nurture and help realize innovations, to help inventors and developers commercialize their ideas," said Buz Sutherland, director of the Small Business Development Center.

The innovation center also ties in with the university's plans to nurture life-science industries as part of a long-range plan to develop a research and technology park on the university farm bordering Interstate 55.

Sutherland's office -- currently in Dempster Hall -- will relocate to the renovated building. The facility also will house a number of other programs on the first floor to help business and industry. The office of Dennis Roedemeier, who is spearheading the development of the technology park, will be in the former church building.

The federal Small Business Administration likely will have an office in the building, Sutherland said.

The second floor will house the professional development program that provides continuing education for the region's teachers.

The third floor of the building will serve as a business incubator, providing office space for start-up businesses. The businesses will be able to rent space at less-than-market rates and share secretarial services and office equipment, Sutherland said.

There's enough room to house perhaps 11 businesses, he said. The office spaces aren't large, but Sutherland said many businesses today don't need a lot of room.

"A lot of businesses anymore are a telephone and a computer," he said.

Typically, incubator space would serve a start-up business for up to three years, he said.

"Some companies are just going to out grow the space and they need to go on pretty quickly," Sutherland said.

Kiefner Brothers is the contractor on the project, which has been underway for the past few months.

Besides replacing exterior windows, construction crews are doing some interior remodeling, along with heating and air-conditioning work. A new entrance will be built on the south side of the 45-year-old building facing Broadway, said Jim Daume, associate director of facilities management at Southeast.

The work is scheduled to be completed within the next three months, with a grand opening scheduled for June 30, Sutherland said.

Southeast purchased the entire First Baptist Church property in 2003 for $3.5 million. Since then, the university has converted the church's activity center into a second recreation center for the campus.

The innovation center project is the next step in developing the property. In the future, the university plans to turn the church itself into new quarters for alumni services and the school's fund-raising foundation.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123