By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The key to keeping young people in rural communities like Hays is bringing in new jobs, said Kansas Lt. Gov./Commerce Secretary David Toland at the ribbon cutting for the MicroFactory in Hays on Wednesday.
Toland was one of about 300 people who attended the celebration of the completion of the 30,000-square-foot facility.
The MicroFactory is meant to be a space where manufacturers can rent at a lower-than-market rate as they launch new businesses or product lines.
Toland offered a quote, "If you want to go fast, you go it alone. If you want to go far, you go together."
"What I find remarkable about the MicroFactory and what's happening in Hays is that you have gone fast and far," Toland said.
"Every curve ball, you've figured out how to hit it."
The Department of Commerce has been able to partner in Hays for tangible results, he said.
Toland listed a variety of programs in addition to the MicroFactry that the state has contributed to in recent years, including the Northwest Business Corridor road project and HEAL grants, which revamp existing buildings for use for living and retail space.
"Most importantly, the bottom line is that this is about the creation of private sector businesses," Toland said. "That is how we create wealth in Kansas.
"We've got to have more businesses, particularly in northwest Kansas, the kind of businesses that will keep our kids in the region. For those kids we've lost who have graduated from high school or technical college or university here, and they've taken a job in Dallas, we're going to be making an intentional effort to go after them."
He said Kansas must highlight the jobs, housing, and cultural opportunities available in the state to those young people.
"There no shortage of good ideas, but what makes Grow Hays, this MicroFactory, what makes everything that's happening in Hays and northwest Kansas different," Toland said, "is that you've got the combination of great ideas and the ability to execute.
"That's why we are so proud to partner in making facilities like this a reality, and that's why I'm so excited to come back one year from today ... and see this thing filled up."
Grow Hays is in discussions with potential renters, but does not have any contracts signed yet, Doug Williams, Grow Hays executive director, said.
Rental rates for the building are all-inclusive, starting at $8 per square foot. The building can be divided into multiple spaces with variable square footage per rental.
"We want this building to fulfill the potential that it has," Williams said.
The facility also includes office and conference room space that the manufacturers or related businesses can rent.
The facility includes 12-foot overhead doors to easily move equipment, materials or goods.
It also has a security and fire suppression system and is climate-controlled.
The building is 1.6 miles from Interstate 70 via Commerce Parkway.
Williams thanked many partners who helped Grow Hays make the MicroFactory possible.
He quoted Helen Keller, "Alone we can do so little. Together, we can do so much."
"I think this project exemplifies that very spirit," he said, "because it took a lot of people and a lot of effort to get this done. ..."
The idea for the project originated in 2020, with the project breaking ground in 2022.
David Clingan, Grow Hays director of recruitment and retention, submitted and received a $2.6 million base grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce for the MicroFactory.
Inflation drove the cost of the project from $3 million to $4.5 million.
The Patterson Family Foundation and Robert E. and Patrica Schmidt Foundation each contributed $500,000 to the project. The Innovation Center in Norton made up the gap with a loan agreement for $750,000.
Heart of America Development Cooperation donated the land for the project. Network Kansas provided technology funding. Nex-Tech and Vyve both provided internet services.
The city of Hays passed industrial revenue bonds that allowed Grow Hays to construct the building without paying sales tax on the materials and with a 10-year tax abatement.
"That allows us to pass that on to tenants in terms of savings, so they can be able to start up their businesses and operate more cost effectively than they could in any other way," Williams said.
Anderson Knight was the architect of the building. Commercial Builders was the contractor. Other contractors included Werth Plumbing and Heating, Meyer Electric, TreeTop Security, M&D Excavating, State Glass, Vitztum Commercial Flooring, Sweeney's Pavement Maintenance, Riedel Garden Center, 21st Century Construction, Strobel Door and Repair, Pryor Automatic Fire Sprinkler, Kitchens Inc., QMC and CK Technologies. Driggs Design Group was the engineering firm on the project.