Federal grant will help KHIC expand operations in new facility

Business incubator planned

By Carol Mills

A state-of-the-art facility is at the heart of efforts by Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation to create a business incubator in London.

KHIC and representatives from the federal government formally announced Thursday the receipt of a $1.08 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration for the business catalyst.

It will be built next KHIC’s location on KY 1006 and will include 9,600 square feet of product development, office and laboratory space for area entrepreneurs. The present facility currently can house only four companies.

“The new building will greatly expand the agency’s capacity,” President/CEO Jerry Rickett said. “It will house 10 new businesses and will be completed in late summer 2009.”

KHIC has been in operation more than 40 years and helps entrepreneurs in 22 counties in Southern Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky, Rickett said. He said it has created more than 10,000 jobs in the region. Two businesses recently move out on their own — Wazoo Sports and PD3. During its first five years, KHIC projects the incubator will assist 16 businesses, help create 127 new jobs and generate $6 million in private investment.

The development of a company typically will take three years and the incubator will help companies move through the business development process toward self-sustainability.

The financial crisis is a call for leadership and Kentucky Highlands is answering that call, U.S. Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers said.

“The business accelerator is a bold initiative to connect the ingenuity of our region with the technical know-how and expertise of entrepreneurial leaders,” he said. “We didn’t wait for Wall Street to get its act together. We can succeed by working together, putting ideas into action and creating a culture of innovation in the hills and hollers of Kentucky. I’m proud to be a part of this initiative and applaud EDA for its continued leadership and dedication to rural America.”

The building is designed by Lawrenceburg architect Jeff Owens to meet green environmental standards and will include a geo-thermal heating and cooling system, structural insulated panels, passive solar design, insulated concrete form walls, continuous slab concrete floors on both levels, double-hung transom windows, energy efficient metal roofing and numerous other features.

The Kentucky Highlands Business Accelerator building will be one of the first, if not the first, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings in the region.

“The Kentucky Highlands business incubator will be a catalyst for growth in the region and will be one of the first new energy efficient business incubator designs in the region that will be built to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design building rating system,” said Patti Sheetz, director of Legislative & Intergovernmental Affairs for the Economic Development Administration.

Other funding for the new incubator includes a $300,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission, which comes through the Governor’s Department for Local Government, as well as a minimum investment of $450,000 from KHIC, completing the package.

Staff writer Carol Mills can be reached by e-mail at cmills@sentinel-echo.com.

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