Sometimes you need to get out of the city.
And Gaston County isn’t far from Uptown; it's right over the Catawba River. Sans traffic, you could get there in less than 30 minutes. Despite it closeness, however, tech resources for the county haven't been as robust as those in nearby metros.
Back in April, with a big boost from the N.C. Department of Commerce, Gaston County found a way to catch up: TechWorks.
TechWorks is a nonprofit entity in Belmont and self-described "opportunity factory." Specifically, it looks to be a model for how an "urban-rural county" can utilize the proximity of a bigger city to galvanize innovation in one's own backyard.
“We wanted to have this vision for Gaston County,” said Nicole Murphy, a local attorney, TechWorks board member and Gaston County native. “We know that everything around Charlotte is growing and prospering, and there’s more and more, but Gaston County is lagging behind.”
The 14,000-square-foot space (which used to be a textile mill) officially debuted this year, led by executive director Terry Cox. Since then, it's offered coworking space, events and event rentals, the Life Long Learning Academy and K-12 STEM education.
Funding in part by government grants helps power TechWorks. The nonprofit received $1 million from the N.C. Department of Commerce, $1 million from Gaston County and $200,000 from the City of Belmont, as well as grants from several foundations.
Last week, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper stopped by TechWorks for a visit, during which he toured the facility, met its resident companies and stopped by several in-session programs (such as an all-girls coding group and a mechanical engineering class).
“We know that there are real needs for places like this, not just in our big cities, but in our suburban and rural counties as well, because we want to stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation,” said Cooper. “One of the ways to do it is getting people to think like that in one place, so that they can cowork with each other, so that they can drive ideas.”
TechWorks works to do this not only in the local entrepreneurship space, but also as a part of the wider community as well.
“We really want you to be invested in this community, and be a part of it,” said Murphy. “So, I think we’re attracting like-minded people and entrepreneurs who appreciate that they can punch above their weight.”
Finding the right people to have a dedicated workspace in the building is mission-critical for the team, Murphy added, and as TechWorks is a nonprofit, leadership is pretty selective with potential tenants. Meaning, they’ve made an effort to select startups and companies committed to “growth beyond their business," entities that are dedicated to the community and helping residents of Gaston County get the resources they need.
TechWorks has already had substantial success with Open Broadband, an internet company based out of the space that has had several contracts awarded by the state. Its goal is to try to get high speed Wi-Fi to underserved areas.
“In Charlotte, if you’re not at a super level, you’re going to get crowded; you’re not going to make the noise,” Murphy said. “Here, I think there’s some really invested people in the community that really want to see this thrive.”
Engaging companies like these are steps in the right direction, Cooper said.
“You can see that Gaston County, the town of Belmont — they have all embraced this idea [of coming together to support local innovation] as something that government, private, nonprofit, education, all ought to be involved in,” Cooper said. “Everybody’s got skin in the game, and already it’s working, so that’s exciting.”
And this is just the beginning for an area its leadership said is full of immense opportunity.
“Especially with the potential for light rail coming to Gaston County, connecting ... Belmont,” said Vincent Ginski, a strategy and operations associate for the Greater Gaston Development Corporation, noting the recent announcement of a LYNX Lightrail Silver Line running east and west. “There’s huge possibility with our proximity to the airport; we’re closer than most of Charlotte is.”
TechWorks' current efforts could also serve as a future catalyst for similar development in other Charlotte-surrounding rural counties, Ginski added.
