By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com
WALDPORT – As it begins implementing a $1 million federal grant, the Economic Development Alliance of Lincoln County is moving from a tiny space in Newport to Oregon Coast Community College’s south county center in Waldport.
The three members of the nonprofit economic development organization plan to be in the building Monday as they complete the move from a one-room office in a strip mall along U.S. Highway 101 in Newport.
“We’ve grow our staffing and our space is too small and not professional,” said alliance director Paul Schuytema. “We’re pretty excited to spread our wings a bit.”
The 25-year-old nonprofit’s mission is to attract, support and grow businesses in Lincoln County. It has board of directors and receives funding from local governments, businesses and grants.
The alliance won a $1 million federal grant in March to create an “Oregon Ocean Innovation Hub” and started receiving funds Sept. 1. The hub is intended to help drive and support entrepreneurs and businesses operating in the “Blue Economy,” a broad term encompassing all variety of ocean-related commerce, from fishing and whale-watching, to hospitality and dining, to wave energy and manufacturing.
At the same time, Oregon Coast Community College’s 10-year-old, 4,200-square-foot building adjacent to the Waldport High/Middle School campus had empty offices and was not being used enough. The college’s nursing assistant programs moved from Waldport to Lincoln City in 2020, community education classes were curtailed, and the building was used in 2021 during the pandemic as a child-care center for school staff.
Schuytema said he was at a rural economic development conference with OCCC president Birgitte Ryslinge when he mentioned they were looking for a better space and she talked about the college’s under-utilized building.
“We only wanted to do it if it was a win-win for both organizations,” he said. “It is.”
The two organizations have signed a two-year agreement for the alliance to use three offices and meetings rooms in the building on Crestline Drive just south of the Waldport school complex. Classrooms will still be available for instructors and the college’s small business development center advisers.
Schuytema said alliance staff will be in the building Monday through Thursday, and work remotely on Fridays. Shuytema said he plans to spend one day a week rotating between college offices in Newport and Lincoln City and an office provided by the city of Toledo.
“I think it will work out quite well,” he said.
For the college, it means that there will be someone in its Waldport center four days a week, allowing its meetings rooms to be opened for use by south county community groups and others needing classroom or meeting space.
“Our Small Business Development Center advisers will have more ready access to the campus, which will now be open regular business hours, making in-person advising sessions more convenient and available,” Ryslinge said in a news release announcing the agreement. “We’ll also see more community education and credit classes scheduled in Waldport, as students and instructors know they’ll be walking into an open, inviting, lively space – a far cry from the building’s state early on during the pandemic.
“We feel a responsibility to ensure all our college facilities are being put to their highest and best use to serve our community, and this partnership is a perfect example of that,” she said.