Billed as a “one-stop shop” for entrepreneurs, Springboard Baton Rouge is slated to open Jan. 1 inside the Kress building at Third and Main streets. Businesses will be able to rent an office or desk by the month, week or day. John Schneider of Vision City Development Group says plans include an Internet café attached to a collaborative workspace opening by March. He says the group is talking with the Urban Entrepreneur Partnership, a Kauffman Foundation program, with expectations to move into the building. The Godfrey Center for Creative Strategy, the center’s educational and public policy arm, will offer educational programs for entrepreneurs. Schneider says he’s looking for professional services sponsors, such as law firms or insurers, who will also be available to Springboard tenants. He says a partnership is being finalized for a social media marketing entity that will also develop smartphone apps and games. Capital Region Venture Partners will offer microlending and investment. Vision City is looking for another 200,000 square feet of office space to expand Springboard over the next three years, with the ultimate goal of housing 50 or more entrepreneurial companies downtown, Schneider says.
Also discussed at today’s Downtown Development District meeting:
—Chairwoman Cheri Ausberry is stepping down from the DDD board. Mayor Kip Holden will appoint a new representative of the downtown financial institutions.
—The fence around the new North Boulevard Town Square likely will be taken down in the next few weeks, although some aspects of the improvements will not yet be in place.
—The DDD’s 2011 Year in Review report, as well as a draft panhandling ordinance for downtown, are available for review here. —David Jacobs
