43
Congress panels OK $700K for business incubator
By GRACE WYLER
youngstown
The Youngstown Business Incubator is on track to receive $700,000 in federal funds to grow its downtown technology campus.
The funds are included in the 2011 Transportation Appropriations Bill, which was approved Friday by three subcommittees of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee.
The bill, however, must still pass the full appropriations committee, the full House and Senate, and be signed by President Barack Obama before it becomes effective.
The incubator will use the funds to renovate an 8,000-square-foot Boardman Street building that connects to the original incubator building on Federal Street, said chief executive Jim Cossler. The building will be used to accommodate the projected growth of BizVeo, a portfolio company that provides video-networking solutions, Cossler said.
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, was instrumental in getting appropriations funding for the incubator, Cossler said.
The expansion of the incubator campus will help “keep the ball rolling” on Youngstown’s growing software industry, Ryan said.
“We have one of the hottest business-to-business software clusters in the country,” Ryan said. “We are doubling down on this success and continuing to use that campus to redefine the community.”
Renovation would include mechanical updates, asbestos remediation, construction of a new elevator and interior finishing.
Overall, the appropriations include $1.15 million for the 17th District, Ryan said in a news release.
Funds for other Mahoning Valley projects include $500,000 to enhance the criminal information systems in the sheriffs’ offices in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. The money will go toward expanding the Trumbull County Integrated Justice Information System and building a web-based client interface that will allow participating law-enforcement agencies to exchange case information.
“This funding will provide a great opportunity for collaboration between Trumbull, Mahoning and Ashtabula counties,” Trumbull County Sheriff Tom Altiere said.
The bill also includes funds for youth programs, including $300,000 to expand low-income, at-risk youth programming at the Youngstown YWCA and $100,000 for SMARTS, an arts education provider for the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Detention Center in Youngstown.