Mayor Wamp announces small business incubator to share Gateway Building with Franklin-Roberts Future Ready Institute
(Courtesy: Hamilton County Government)
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Tuesday, you heard from several small business owners concerned about the potential closure of the Small Business Incubator on the Chattanooga northshore.
On Wednesday, we learned the Franklin-Roberts Future Ready Center is going to serve as much more than just a technical school.
It will also serve as the county’s new small business incubator as it will replace the older facility on the North Shore, as both the school and incubator will share the Gateway Building.
Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp said, “I think that it’s an important part of the county’s legacy that we have run one of the largest business incubators in America, but that facility has candidly run its course.”
Mayor Wamp explained that there is millions of dollars in deferred maintenance at the Northshore Incubator, which was formerly a manufacturing facility.
He, along with other local leaders, believe that bringing that incubator over to the Franklin-Roberts Future Ready Institute, designed to be the spiritual successor to the former Kirkman Technical School, will create a unique environment where students are exposed to entrepreneurship.
Former Senator and Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker said, “Having the opportunity to encounter business people who can mentor them, and can cause them to envision themselves in a totally different way then they might be learning at home or learning from the normal experiences they have is valuable.”
We spoke with small business owners who shared their concerns about the project, concerned that they will soon be kicked out.
Business Owner Chantz Yanagida told us, “Well we would like this to be able to kind of slow down a little bit. I understand the urgency of the county on their side, but this is something that is quite literally gonna displace 34 active strong small businesses.”
Mayor Wamp tells us that even with a pending sale of that building, tenants will not be kicked out soon.
He said, “We’ve got an arrangement with the Chamber of Commerce, who operates the building that will allow for continuity.”
Mayor Wamp adds that the move would enhance the incubator.
He said, “That facility is falling apart. There may be nostalgia there. I level buildings that’s not a building that’s got a particular amount of architectural design. This one is gonna be one of the most beautiful education facilities in the south so I think it’s self evident that this is gonna be a far, far superior facility.”
The mayor expects the school to be open no later than the beginning of the 2028 school year, with certain aspects of the building being open before then.
