NEWS

Zane State partners with Business Incubator for renovations

Evan Peter Smith

ZANESVILLE – Zane State and the Muskingum County Business Incubator have partnered to renovate the second floor of the incubator building.

The collaboration will allow the incubator to receive $225,000 in state grant funds — funds that were initially received by Zane State and then funneled to the incubator — to repair restrooms, install handicapped-accessible doors, renovate rooms and clear away hazardous materials, among other repairs, allowing the second floor to be capable of housing a business tenant.

In this case, the tenant will be Zane State students.

“The theory behind this whole deal is to create a business that will be run by Zane State students themselves,” said Larry Triplett, executive director the incubator. “So, for instance, a student might serve as the CEO one semester, and the CFO another semester, and so on.”

The partnership will therefore benefit Zane State and the incubator, he said; by allowing local students to gain real world experience in a real business environment, the hope is the arrangement will help to foster young entrepreneurs.

Given that the partnership is still in its early stages, there are no specific plans for what that business may be.

epsmith@gannett.com

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Twitter: @evansmithreport