$1.7M Grant to Help Bring Start-up Companies to S. Jersey

CREST HAVEN – A three-year, $1.7 million U.S. Economic Development Administration grant, as explained to freeholders Aug. 27, would help attract aviation and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) research companies to the area.
“The incubation, acceleration, and commercialization infrastructure in this part of the state is virtually non-existent,” said Lauren Moore, Jr., executive director of Atlantic County Economic Alliance (ACEA), when noting the importance of the i6 Challenge grant.
ACEA is a private sector directed, nonprofit economic development corporation that was established for business attraction, retention, and marketing efforts in Atlantic County, according to its website.
 “We don’t have access to venture capitalists, we don’t have access to investors like you do outside the Philadelphia region and the New York region,” said Moore. The grant would help Atlantic and Cape May counties attract start-up companies and established companies that might need accelerator services, he continued.
Accelerator services are for established companies that might be 1-5 years old that have a concept, “but just need a little help and a little financial assistance to help do proof of concept,” Moore added. “They can come test that at Cape May (County) Airport. They can come test that at Atlantic City (International Airport).”
Out of 183 applications for the grant, 26 were accepted, according to Atlantic County Chief of Staff Howard Kyle. He said Cape May and Atlantic counties ranked among Johns Hopkins University, the Mayo Clinic, Cornell University, Purdue University and others.
Kyle said that he last appeared before the freeholder board five years ago “when we were addressing how we could clean up the last aspects of the South Jersey Economic Development District (SJEDD).”
Since then, Kyle said, the National Aviation Research and Technology Park, which is part of an Aviation Innovation Hub that also includes the William J. Hughes Technical Center and the Atlantic City International Airport, linked with the Cape May County Airport, and a growing relationship with Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst has “formed an aviation research triangle.”
“That’s how far along we’ve come,” said Kyle. “That’s because of the cooperation … we are stronger collectively than we are individually.” 
“We (Moore and Kyle) firmly believe this is a regional economy,” said Moore. “I see counties and municipalities battling for ratables. It’s not healthy. This is why we want to work closely with Cape May County and the other two counties in the SJEDD. This is important to us to develop a regional economy, and it also, from what I’ve seen from when I worked in Trenton, it gives us a little more strength politically.”
Atlantic County has four legislative districts, “but this now allows us to work with your legislative districts, Cumberland’s, Salem’s, parts of Burlington, Gloucester, Camden, so now we have a stronger voice in Trenton when we’re looking to get state and federal resources,” Moore continued.
That’s why the i6 Challenge grant and partnering with Cape May County is so important, he added.
Moore said the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA) in Hampton, Va., a national leader in aerospace and aviation research and development, partnered with Cape May and Atlantic counties on the grant application, along with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., Atlantic Cape Community College, Rowan University and New Jersey Institute of Technology.
“They (NIA) already won an i6 (Challenge grant), and they do accelerator and incubation services,” he said. “They (NIA) know how to attract aviation companies, they just haven’t done it in this part of the country because they haven’t been invited to do it. This is an opportunity for us to really build some great infrastructure and we have money to put the programming together.”
Executives from companies in the National Aviation Research and Technology Park including Lockheed Martin and Boeing, “are giving us in-kind services and mentoring services for these small aviation and UAS start-up companies to help them grow … and stay here,” said Moore.   
Marketing will be used to attract companies into the area, explained Moore, and programming/events will be held at the Cape May County and Atlantic City airports. “This is a 50/50 partnership with Cape May County,” he added. 
The Smart Airport and Aviation Partnership (SAAP) will be created as a result of the grant. It will have a director and an assistant director as a part of the budget, said Moore. “The balance of the budget is going to be used for programming to hire incubation services, acceleration services, commercialization services, and marketing,” he added.
Some of the money will be used to offset costs, “so if a company wants to come and test UAS at Cape May (County) Airport, and there are costs that are incurred to the airport … we have money in the budget to pay for those costs,” Moore noted. “It’s going to be decided on a joint committee, equally appropriated between Atlantic and Cape May counties, to make these decisions on how best to appropriate the budget.”
“This is just one step to continue to diversify the South Jersey economy,” Moore added.
“We’re always thankful for the support that our unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) program has received over these past five years,” said Carole Mattessich, director of the county Division of Economic Development. “The journey has often been solitary. It has always been solid in its development, and we’re extremely grateful over these past couple years to have had a growing partnership with Atlantic County.”
Freeholder Will Morey, who oversees economic development, said freeholders were excited about the grant and “delighted to be working with you (Kyle and Moore) on that endeavor.”
“I’m really impressed,” added Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton.