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Innovation Hub Receives $1M EDA Grant for Argenta Center

3 min read

The nonprofit Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub has received a $1 million federal grant to complete renovation of its Argenta Innovation Center in downtown North Little Rock, it announced Monday.

The grant comes from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The Hub will use some of the money to finish renovating the center, located at Broadway and Poplar. The final phase of renovations will include development of the Silver Mine entrepreneurial resource center.

The rest of the money will enable the Hub to complete the purchase of the building, which formerly housed a North Little Rock police substation. The Silver Mine will be used as a co-working and acceleration space. The center already houses the Launch Pad maker space; the STEAM Lab, a classroom and laboratory space dedicated to science, technology, engineering and math projects; and The Art Connection, a program for high-school students that develops entrepreneurship through visual arts.

Joining Hub Executive Director Warwick Sabin for the announcement were Gov. Asa Hutchinson, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Matt Erskine, U.S. Rep. French Hill, Delta Regional Authority Co-Chairman Chris Masingill, Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde and North Little Rock Mayor Joe Smith.

“We are tremendously grateful for this support from the U.S. Economic Development Administration,” Sabin said in a news release. “This grant demonstrates confidence in the model that we have created to support entrepreneurship, and it establishes Arkansas as a center for innovative programming in talent and enterprise development.”

Erskine said the EDA is committed to helping communities across the country spur innovation through projects like the Argenta Innovation Center.

“EDA’s $1 million investment will help to redevelop a 1920’s-era building to serve as the Argenta lnnovation Center, which will provide critical education, training, prototyping, and startup training to boost entrepreneurial opportunities for Arkansans,” he said.

Hutchinson, who recently spoke about entrepreneurship to a group of national startup founders in Little Rock, said Arkansas is experiencing a wave of entrepreneurial momentum.

“With projects like the Innovation Hub, we will continue to establish the state as a place that values innovative thinking and acts as a magnet for fast-growth business enterprises,” he said. “When it comes to entrepreneurial opportunities, creative thinkers will love Arkansas.”

The announcement kicks off what promises to be a big week at the Hub. Later this week, it will host the inaugural Arkansas Maunfacturing Innovation Summit (Wednesday and Thursday) and then the first-ever Maker Faire event in central Arkansas on Saturday.

The summit agenda is available here.

Hutchinson is scheduled to speak on Wednesday morning, and panelists that day will include Walter Burgess of Power Technology Inc., which has developed a laser projection system for movies, and Douglas Hutchings of Picasolar, which is developing an ultra-efficient solar cell.

Both PTI and Picasolar are client firms of Innovate Arkansas, the nonprofit organization that nurtures and supports tech-based startups in the state.

The mini-Maker Faire will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday outside the Hub, in conjunction with the Argenta Arts Festival.

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