Chamber, shopping center developing business incubator

By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press 

The Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce is collaborating with Quine Associates, the property manager of Cove Terrace Shopping Center, to help several small businesses to grow. 
Maurice Tobin, interim chamber president, and Jennie Snelling, Regional Vice President for Quine & Associates, are working together to bring in tenants to the space located at 336 Cove Terrace. 
Snelling is excited about the space which had turned from a challenge to lease into a possibility. 
“This space, 336 Cove Terrace, has been vacant for a few years. Since it has so many offices, it makes it more difficult to lease, so, I had been discussing with the Asset Manager about the possibility of turning it into an incubator. We’ve been mulling it over for a while,” Snelling said. “Mo (Tobin) and I were talking about a variety of things and it just happened that he asked about the possibility of an incubator here, and the idea became a goal.”
The property is already subdivided into office spaces, with the largest section a 12 by 16-foot office space at 192 square feet. Snelling said there are two people already interested in this space. There are two other spaces of 96 square feet, 8 by 12 feet, and 144 square feet, or 12 by 12 feet. 
Snelling hopes to have the first tenants to move in by April 1, or May 1 at the latest, she said. 
“I need two offices to be pre-leased before we can make this happen,” said Snelling. “Our startup costs are requiring two leases to get this going.”
Tobin said tenants would have a common reception area and the other spaces will be dedicated places for tenants to use anytime, any day. 
He sees this as key for small businesses having a way to expand without the overhead of going it on their own. 
“A lot of small businesses can’t afford a thousand dollars a month for a space, utilities, and everything involved in that,” Tobin said. He sees this as a win for small businesses in Copperas Cove and a win for the chamber, and for Cove Terrace, too, the oldest shopping center in the city which celebrated its 50th anniversary two years ago. 
Those interested in the terms of the space rental should contact Jennie Snelling directly at her office, located at 200 Cove Terrace Shopping center. She can also be reached at 254-542-1767.