Smack dab in the old economy center of downtown Wilkes-Barre, in an original Woolworth’s Five and Dime building, a five year-old incubator is helping to define the new economy in a city that sorely needs a fresh approach.
And it’s no coincidence that a $100 million expansion of the riverfront, a downtown movie theater with lofts, and the nation’s only joint-college bookstore have all come to fruition since the Innovation Center of Wilkes-Barre was born in 2004.
The incubator, which sits atop a Barnes and Noble shared by King’s College and Wilkes University students in a completely renovated space just off Public Square, boasts 15,000 square feet and with 14 companies is at about 90 percent occupancy. The companies are mostly technology-based, but the incubator maintains a diverse roster that Innovation Center director John Augustine believes is remaking the city’s workforce and identity.
“We still realize we’re a blue-collar town, but we also have 12 colleges in a 12-mile radius,” says Augustine. “Our colleges have been our largest importers of talent, but also our largest exporters. Now we’re keeping some of them.”
The incubator, which is managed by the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry, has already had some high-profile graduates.
Internet marketing agency PepperJam, started in the center with one employee in 2004, made the Inc. 500 fastest-growing companies list two years in a row, and had 48 when they were acquired by e-commerce giant GSI Commerce in King of Prussia on Sept. 1. Another tenant, e-commerce developer Solid Cactus, was acquired earlier this year by web.com, leading provider of online tools and marketing services for small businesses and decided to stay in the area.
Augustine says plans are underway to convert a former bank near on Public Square into an additional $4 million, 10,000 square-foot incubator that could begin construction as early as the end of the year.
Source: John Augustine, Wilkes-Barre Innovation Center
Writer: Joe Petrucci
