Mayfield Entrepreneurial Center in Bollinger County garners state funding

MARBLE HILL — The third floor of Bollinger County Library is receiving a new lease on life as the future site of Mayfield Entrepreneurial Center.

Mayfield Entrepreneurial Center will act as an incubator and accelerator space for entrepreneurs and start-up businesses.

"This center fulfills a desperate need in our area for creating a business-friendly start-up space, shared workspace, and training and mentoring center," MEC chairman Ed Crowley stated in a news release. "The center will help new businesses in launching their business, providing work and meeting spaces for existing small businesses and work-at-home professionals, and support services to assist start-ups in navigating the start-up process."

A group of local citizens formed a committee in 2022 to start an entrepreneurial/shared-workspace center. Crowley, a Southeast Missouri State University assistant professor and owner of Mesta Meadows, and Stan Crader of Crader Distributing — both entrepreneurs in their own right — initially identified the need for an entrepreneurial center.

"Renovation of the library's third floor completes the restoration of one of the most magnificent buildings in Bollinger County, and it's being done for the right reasons," Crader said. "Requests for temporary workspace is a regular occurrence at the library. COVID ushered in work-from-home, and now working remotely is common place. 'Build it and they will come' is a reality if what is built is useful and located in an attractive setting. The MEC is both and more, and will certainly attract those looking to reside in rural America but have the need for a conveniently located high-tech work space. The renovation of the third floor will finish the work started by hundreds of volunteers who painstakingly restored the first two floors, and, in a sense, is a tribute to them."

Bollinger County Library is getting a facelift, which includes a new roof, this year during construction on the Mayfield Entrepreneurial Center on the third floor of the library.Courtesy of Bollinger County Library

To explore options for starting an entrepreneurial center in Bollinger County, Crowley and Crader worked with other MEC board members, including Mitzi Rhodes of Lutesville Motors; Jo Burford, retired district secretary from Woodland School District; Kevin Cooper, emergency management coordinator; and Eva Dunn, Bollinger County Library director.

The group approached the library board to create the space on the vacant third floor of the building. And after receiving the board's consent, according to the news release, the group approached elected officials including Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, state Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder, state Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick and state Rep. Rick Francis to help identify funding for restoration of the third floor to house MEC.

"The support of these government officials was absolutely essential to obtaining funding for this project and turning this dream into a reality," Crowley said.

The $2,091,320 project is being funded via the Missouri Technology Corporation and the Department of Economic Development. Construction is slated to be completed by January 2025. Among the upgrades to the building is installation of an elevator.

Historic preservation architect Joy Coleman of TreanorHL will work with Phil Penzel of Penzel Construction Company of Jackson to restore the third floor of this National Register of Historic Places building to house meeting and training rooms, small cubicle business areas, and computer and business machine areas to meet any needs of entrepreneurs.

"Mr. Penzel will restore this building that his great-grandfather originally built for the Mayfield College campus, and Ms. Coleman has worked on numerous historic buildings in the state, including the Capital and Cape Girardeau Courthouse," Crowley said. "This year-long project will give our region a first-class business asset that can spur economic growth for businesses of all sizes," Dunn said.