The historic Bank Note Building in Hunts Point is home to an innovative business incubator.
The BXL Business Incubator was launched by the Business Outreach Center Network on January 21 in a portion of the iconic space.
The BOC Network, in partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation, took over a 11,000 square-foot office space several months ago from a previous business incubator that opened in 2012.
With the relaunch, the BOC Network has plans to expand the support services it offers to incubator members, said executive director Nancy Carin.
BXL is the first business incubator that the network is running, but the non-profit organization has a long history of providing support for entrepreneurs across the city, said Carin.
“We’re really here to support community-based business and job creators,” she said.
First and foremost, the incubator offers affordable office space through the use of dedicated desks or a shared co-working space.
But beyond affordability, bringing developing businesses together to make connections benefits the entrepreneurs.
“The community of the entrepreneurs, in addition to other support services, really makes a big difference,” said Carin.
Those other support services include assistance with business plan development and finances, as well as access to small business loans through BOC Capital Corp. or other resources.
“We really want to match businesses with whatever source of funding they need,” said Carin.
In addition to providing workshops and developmental opportunities for incubator members, the space will also periodically host workshops—particularly technology centered workshops— for the greater community.
Many of the current incubator members are in the technology industry, said incubator manager Jerelyn Rodriguez, although they range widely from software developers to computer repairs. Another sizable group are health-care businesses, primarily home-care companies.
Overall there is a wide variety, including a trucking company and an environmentally conscious non-profit, she said.
There are 60 businesses that call the incubator home, with a total of 90 members, said Rodriguez, but the space has room for at least 120.
She’s looking forward to the incubator continuing to grow both in terms of members and services offered.
While any entrepreneur can be a member of the business incubator for as long as the would like, the hope is that some of the businesses will eventually outgrow the space and move on, said Carin.
But in the meantime, the BXL Business Incubator isn’t going anywhere—the BOC Network signed a 7-year lease.
“We’re hoping this will be a long-term success,” said Carin.
The incubator is hosting a small business pop-up, open to the public, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, February 21, at 890 Garrison Ave.
Learn more about the BXL Business Incubator at www.bxl.nyc.
