By ROBIN SHANNON

Staff Reporter

HAHNVILLE – A lease was signed this past week between the River Parishes Community Development Corporation and the St. Charles Parish Council on a 12,000 square foot facility to be used as a small business incubator for the parish.

Corey Faucheux, director of the St. Charles Department of Economic Development and Tourism, said the parish closed on the $260,000 property in June. The building will be used specifically for the benefit of small business in the commercial food industry.

&#8220The CDC can now begin converting the facility into a commercial kitchen and office facilities,” said Faucheux. &#8220The main purpose of this project is to nurture and assist small business in the entire River Parish region.”

Faucheux said the River Parishes CDC would be the main tenat of the building, located at 917 Third St. in Norco. He said the nonprofit group secured a $350,000 grant from the state, along with $50,000 from Louisiana State University, which would be used for renovations and management of the facility, a former warehouse that was home to Norco Co-Op grocery store.

&#8220Once the renovations are complete, and the kitchen has USDA and FDA approval, the project can move forward,” said Faucheux. &#8220It should be up and running in 10-12 months.”

One of the partners in the project is the Louisiana Business and Technology Center at LSU, which will provide counseling to fledgling businesses. Charlie D’Agostino, executive director of the center said that an incubator catering to the food industry is something that has been lacking in the region.

&#8220Louisiana is known for its food, and a lot of stuff is being made out of state,” D’Agostino said. &#8220What this will do is allow companies to make their products in state. We have lots of successful food industry people in this area.”

D’Agostino added that the incubator will also be used as a marketing Co-Op that will be able to market separate entities to supermarkets under the same umbrella.

&#8220One person’s barbecue sauce, one person’s salad dressing, and another’s brownie mix can be sold to markets as the same entity using this facility,” D’Agostino said.

The parish plans to lease the building to the corporation for 10 years at a base rent of $405 per month for the first three years. Faucheux said the rent would gradually increase over the length of the lease to $1,000 by 2016.

&#8220This figure does not include additional adjustments such as insurance and other costs to the parish,” said Faucheux. &#8220The CDC would also have the option of extending the lease an additional five years in 2016.”

The lease agreement was approved unanimously at a meeting of the St. Charles Parish Council September 4.

Faucheux said part of the job of the Department of Economic Development and Tourism is to help grow businesses in the area, and start new ones. He said Incubator programs like this one have greatly enhanced the success of small businesses.

&#8220It’s the most proven system for growing and improving small business in the area,” said Faucheux.

D’Agostino said once the facility is opened, it would produce about 20-30 jobs in the area.

&#8220This number will increase over time with the success of the incubator,” he said. &#8220Eventually, businesses that utilize the facility will grow enough to build their own facilities near the incubator.”

Other partners involved in the project include Greater New Orleans Inc., the New Orleans area Chamber of Commerce that proposed the center, and Goodwill Industries, which will supply training and labor for a packaging center, an additional part of the operation.