Small-business owners in Newark will soon have more affordable office space available, as the Institute For Entrepreneurial Leadership on Friday signed a lease for 9,000 square feet of Class A space at 550 Broad St. for entrepreneurs use as low-cost space.
“This initiative fills a critical need for small business(es) constantly seeking affordable space in order to get their businesses off the ground,” said DT Ogilvie, founding director of the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, in a press release. “There is a dearth of affordable space, and that impedes the economic development of the City of Newark.”
IFEL CEO Jill Johnson said the decision was energized by the White House’s Urban Entrepreneurship Summit, hosted by CUEED at Rutgers University’s Newark business school.
“Opening this facility will allow us to support economic development on multiple levels,” Johnson said. “In addition, it will allow us to create jobs, a key element toward strengthening urban centers like Newark.”
For tenants who inhabit the facility, which is expected to open in mid-July, benefits include conference and training space, mentoring and consulting by IFEL, and eligibility for free technical assistance through a Newark Urban Enterprise Zone program.
