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CargoBay Opens in Hazelwood
CargoBay is Open. Hazelwood Mayor T.R. Carr speaks at the grand opening ceremony at CargoBay.
CargoBay, a first introduction for the company in the St. Louis market, held a grand opening last week in Hazelwood at the site of old K-Mart store off N. Lindbergh. This first-of-its-kind facility, located at 7220 Lindbergh Blvd., is a prime example of how a vacant, big box retail store can be converted into a well-equipped campus and incubator for small businesses, said CargoBay CEO Case Lawrence.
CargoBay, a California-based company, spent millions of dollars turning an old K-Mart store, which had been sitting dormant for several years, into a cutting edge professional environment geared to keeping entrepreneurs motivated and focused on growing their businesses. This new business incubator concept is an innovative experiment for communities like Hazelwood.
According to Lawrence, “When companies announce plans to open a big box store like Wal-Mart, Circuit City and Linens ‘n Things, communities celebrate because of the added tax revenue it will generate. But when these stores close or relocate, it’s hard to find another business big enough to occupy the vacant space. As a result, literally hundreds of big box retail stores are sitting dormant out there and no one really knows what to do with them. What we did to the Kmart store in Hazelwood is our company’s first attempt to find a way to creatively re-use a big box retail store location.”
The partnership formed between CargoBay and the City of Hazelwood can stimulate economic development by helping new business ventures get off the ground. “This particular location will lure in small businesses that can feed off of the other developments occurring within the city of Hazelwood,” said Hazelwood Mayor T.R. Carr. “Once they reach a certain point to where they out grow their space at CargoBay, hopefully they will want to stay in our community and continue building alliances with other local businesses.”
“We provide all this work space on a unique model where there are no leases. So everyone is month-to-month. We mitigate risk for entrepreneurs and small business people,” Lawrence added.
The new CargoBay facility in Hazelwood offers attractive and affordable office space for small businesses of all sizes. Those just starting out can use a one room office with the option of trading up to a bigger one when space is available.
With just a swipe of a credit card for $399 per month, tenants are provided with the following amenities: fully furnished office; 24/7 access; business mailing address; P.O. Box; broadband Internet; Cisco VoIP telephony; conference room access; break lounge; as well as a shipping and fulfillment hub. In addition, over 200 climatecontrolled storage units are available for warehousing, product inventory, office supplies and document filing.
CargoBay also offers the HotBay for $99 per month, which is a cutting-edge virtual office service for entrepreneurs on the run. This is especially designed for sales representatives who may need somewhere to hook up their laptops, check e-mail messages and make phone calls for a couple of hours each day. The WorkBay for $250 per month provides a dedicated work station with a phone, voice mail and file storage.
“We’re excited to welcome CargoBay to the local business community in Hazelwood,” said David Cox, economic developer of Hazelwood. “It’s definitely a plus factor for us to add CargoBay to our diverse mix of industrial, retail and service businesses.”
CargoBay offers office space, premium storage solutions, and a shipping and fulfillment hub all under one roof. Tenants can take advantage of fully-equipped conference rooms, hot desking, document storage and the latest technology solutions. The company has two locations in Clovis, Calif., and one in Idaho. The facility in Hazelwood is the fourth location. For more information, visit www.cargobay.com.
