Leonardtown, MD – St. Mary’s County has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) in the amount of $1,350,000 for an entity to manage the new county business incubator. The incubator, currently under construction, will be located at the St. Mary’s County Regional Airport.

The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County recognize a stronger and more resilient economy is one which is less reliant on the defense spending attached to Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NAS PAX River). Therefore, the county is seeking to diversify the county’s economy away from defense spending and more towards an innovation-based economy. The successful operation of an incubator is a critical component in the growth of new technology firms in St. Mary’s County.

The business incubator will be a facility which nurtures start-up firms during their early months or years. It will be managed by professionals with expertise in entrepreneurship and growing small firms. The firms will receive affordable office space, management training, mentoring, marketing support and access to capital resources.

The services provided through the business incubator will primarily be for start-ups or early stage companies pursuing commercialization of technologies patented at NAS Pax River, or the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division, as well as businesses pursuing research and development of unmanned and autonomous systems (UAS).  The incubator will also be open to other technology entrepreneurs as space allows.

“I am extremely excited that we’ve crossed this milestone in getting the RFP out,” said Chris Kaselemis, St. Mary’s County Economic Development Director. “I am confident that the incubator will be a catalyst for innovation and entrepreneurial enterprises which will expand and diversify the economy of St Mary’s County.” 

Funding for the business incubator will come from the Technology Transfer Office of NAWC-AD, who has allocated the funding to the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), which has expertise in establishing incubators and helping small firms and entrepreneurs.  The Technology Transfer Office has an agreement with TEDCO to provide the funding to St. Mary’s County to establish the incubator.  

Proposals are due by Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. For more information go to:
https://emaryland.buyspeed.com/bso/external/bidDetail.sdo?bidId=MDSMG31032270