The Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation has been awarded a $2.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to renovate a downtown Mobile building into Innovation PortAL, a new workspace designed to support local entrepreneurs. The award was announced by Matt Erskine, deputy assistant secretary of commerce for economic development.
The grant will fund renovation of the former Threaded Fasteners building at 358 St. Louis St., which will be transformed into a space aimed at helping entrepreneurs launch new business ideas or accelerate existing companies with support from industry experts, mentors and specialized training programs.
The project is the brainchild of the Mobile Area Chamber Foundation, according to Hayley Van Antwerp, Innovation PortAL’s executive director. The center is designed around a 35,000-square-foot floor plan geared toward manufacturing technologies and compatible businesses, and will include a prototyping lab once engineering and renovation work wraps up. Building plans also set aside additional space to accommodate future expansion.
Local private foundations, private industry, the city of Mobile, Mobile County and the University of South Alabama collectively committed an additional $1.9 million in matching funds to the project. “We’re thrilled to receive this grant from the EDA. It helps propel the Innovation PortAL forward quickly. This project would have never been possible without Advancing Southwest Alabama and the recognition the manufacturing designation brought to the region,” Mobile Area Chamber president and CEO Bill Sisson said.
Van Antwerp said the project is expected to generate significant economic impact in its first five years, with projections calling for roughly 500 local jobs and support for more than 300 entrepreneurs whose companies could contribute an estimated $5 million to the local economy.
Innovation PortAL was set to welcome its first clients in the fall following the grant announcement. Prospective tenants are required to complete an online application and submit business, promotion and sales plans; companies that are qualified as potential fits for the facility are then invited to pitch their business plans to PortAL staff and a governing board.
The project reflects a broader effort by Mobile-area economic development groups to build out infrastructure supporting small manufacturers and startups downtown, part of a push tied to the region’s manufacturing designation and efforts to diversify the local economy beyond its traditional shipbuilding and port-driven industries.