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<br />001 <br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date:August 21, 2012 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No.7-e <br />SUBJECT: Interlocal Agreement with Town of Chapel Hill in Support of Business Incubator <br />DEPARTMENT:Economic DevelopmentPUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N)No <br />ATTACHMENT(S):INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Interlocal AgreementSteve Brantley, Economic Development <br />Director 919-245-2326 <br />PURPOSE: <br />To support the growth of the County’s entrepreneurial development goals and also <br />form an economic development tie with the Town of Chapel Hill with an interlocal agreement <br />regardingthe creation of an innovation center located at 321 West Rosemary Street in Chapel <br />Hill. <br />BACKGROUND: <br />In response to the Board of County Commissioner’s request to explore <br />opportunities to support the growth of entrepreneurs in Orange County, and to mitigate the <br />exodusof University-affiliated start-up companies to other counties, the County contracted with <br />Dr. Emil Malizia to conduct a real estate assessment to evaluate the space needs for these <br />companies throughout their life span. A key recommendation from this report suggested the <br />development of an innovation center to better retain entrepreneurial talent both from the <br />University and the community. <br />Several properties as recommended in Dr. Malizia’s report were evaluated to determine their <br />feasibility to function as an innovation center. In March2012, a property located at 321 West <br />Rosemary Street in Chapel Hill was identified as a potential location, and the Town of Chapel <br />Hill and Orange County began working collaboratively to support further development of an <br />innovation center at this location. <br />On April 3, 2012, the Board of County Commissioners received a summary of the potential <br />project during closed session. Following this report, the Board agreed to continue moving <br />forward on this opportunity. <br />In July2012, Orange County prepared a draft Interlocal Agreement outlining the commitments <br />of both parties. The Town of Chapel Hill suggested several changes to the Interlocal <br />Agreement. The most current version of the Interlocal Agreement is provided as an attachment. <br /> <br />