The City of Auburn has launched a small business incubator in partnership with the Port of Seattle and the State Department of Commerce in an effort to facilitate and catalyze innovation, entrepreneurial development and business success in Auburn.

Mayor Nancy Backus and Port Commissioners Tom Albro and Stephanie Bowman gathered with other officials and supporters at a ribbon cutting ceremony at the new center on Thursday afternoon.

The 1,500-square-foot facility, centrally located in Auburn’s Sound Transit Station, is designed to serve as a resource for young businesses to help accelerate their growth and success and reduce the likelihood of failure.

“Our ultimate goal is to nurture innovation through a collaborative community of entrepreneurship that will create new jobs and enhance the quality of life in the community,” Backus said.

The larger objective, Backus said, is to increase middle-wage jobs through economic growth, promote small business growth and workforce development in the region, and help companies get established and rooted in the Auburn community with the hope that they become permanent contributors to the overall vitality, diversity and growth of the city’s economy.

The incubator site includes space for a minimum of 10 businesses and has a mix of working, communal and meeting spaces as well as easy access throughout the Puget Sound given its onsite transportation access to light rail and the transit center.

For more information on the incubator, contact Economic Development Manager Doug Lein at dlein@auburnwa.gov.