Paragould innovation hub to open
$1.5M development space to host 1st classes next month
PARAGOULD — An “innovation hub” called Generating Innovative Network, or G.I.N., will soon open its first phase in a half-block of downtown Paragould, including a computer lab, a classroom for Black River Technical College and several workshops.
Paragould’s nonprofit Economic Development Corporation will own and operate the $1.5 million space, 200-212 N.
Pruitt St., with backing from the city. Construction began in December 2022. Interior buildout is just about done, and Black River Tech will begin offering its first classes there next month.
“We at Black River Technical College are thrilled to witness the vibrant evolution of Paragould’s downtown with the inauguration of the G.I.N.,” said President Dr. Martin Eggensperger. “This innovative hub embodies collaboration, education, and entrepreneurship, aligning perfectly with [the college’s] mission.”
The G.I.N. will have a Delta Regional Authority grantfunded director of workforce development to teach soft skills training like resumewriting, financial literacy and computer job training in the center’s workforce room. A STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) room will have a 3D printer, and there will be a woodworking shop and pottery room.
Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer and Director of Economic Development Allison Hestand, who is the G.I.N.’s project leader, said the college will host as many classes as possible there, part of its involvement in the Greene County Industrial Training Consortium.
Hestand said she hopes college and adult education
students’ work in the G.I.N. will inspire them to take advantage of the workforce center and maker space, exposing them to opportunities to work with established employers, upscale their own businesses or take the leap into entrepreneurship.
“Our industries do not have to send people out of Greene County for training,” she said. “Most of their trainings can be done here through the Greene County Industrial Training Center. Black River works to get grants through the Office of Skills Development to train our workforce. We have a lot of hard-tech training out there; [the G.I.N.] is going to be the pipeline for that.”
“Our workforce partnership is going to strengthen our K-12 workforce pipeline, but we’re also going to work with incumbent workers and people who have been out of the workforce, people who just want to re-skill,” Hestand said. Initial cohorts of 20 for three- to six-week programs are planned, presenting an opportunity to start small and grow through feedback from educational and industrial partners. The Delta Regional Authority grant will fund no-cost G.I.N. instruction for students, and the Paragould Chamber Foundation has launched to raise funds for when that money runs out after two years.
Hestand said downtown has seen a good deal of private investment and building rehabilitation. Tenneco, a Metro Detroit auto parts manufacturer, employs 1,200 workers at its Paragould facility; manufacturing makes up around 30% of the city’s economic base, Hestand said, with railroad equipment a continuing industry.
“I think there have been years of leadership that understands if you do not take care of your community, you cannot expect private businesses to take care of their businesses in your community,” Hestand said. “You have to take care of what’s yours, and downtown is ours.”
Boosters like Dina Mason, general manager and president of radio station owner and Premiere Magazine publisher Mor Media, Inc., has helped lead the downtown renaissance since the late-1990s.
“It doesn’t happen quickly. It has definitely been a process over many years, convincing people that it’s important to have downtown as the heart of their city,” she said. Rents were quite low in previous years, encouraging entrepreneurs to set up shop in the district, but work also went on to convince real estate investors to charge more in rents in order to have the money to take better care of their buildings.
Mason said conscious work has gone on to ensure rent prices that benefit both parties; the G.I.N., she said, is broadcasting to entrepreneurs that the community has their back and that downtown is a good place to open.
Hestand noted that Paragould has seen sustained growth over the past several decades, ascribing the retail sector’s recent success to the population exceeding 30,000. Its business district is doing well, with a good streetscape and most storefronts occupied. First National Bank donated $2 million to turn downtown’s 100-year-old former power plant into an event space, and the adjacent park hosts the city’s farmers’ market. An amphitheater is planned for the site as well.
“To see the partnerships the G.I.N. has already formed gives us great hope for the future collaboration with this facility,” said Miranda Reynolds, executive director of Main Street Paragould, in charge of downtown historical preservation and revitalization. “We are proud to have the G.I.N. in our downtown district and cannot wait to see the thousands of people it will impact. With this addition and many others, our downtown is thriving and that is just what our nonprofit’s goal is to see.”
The G.I.N. was secured from two real estate owners for $250,000, with more building space for future growth: a small business incubator, currently in the pricing and fundraising phase, and then a test kitchen. The space used to hold a pharmacy, hardware store and the local state health department office.
Redevelopment began across the street as work on the G.I.N. went on. “This block of downtown has been the last to revitalize, and we feel pretty proud of starting that spur,” Hestand said.
“We’ve got a younger population in Paragould, and they’re looking for that heartbeat of the community,” she said, noting emerging entertainment opportunities there. “I just think you see a group of people who want to live, work and play here, and we’re finally starting to figure out the ‘play’ piece. People are enjoying the after-5 p.m. life in Paragould. We’re adding that quality-of-life piece to our community.”