The City of Austin recently announced the first cohort of Box Bazaar tenants! Box Bazaar is a temporary neighborhood installation offering business incubator spaces in retrofitted shipping containers to aspiring entrepreneurs. In addition to having access to an affordable, short-term lease, they’ll receive coaching and educational resources to support their new business ventures. The goal is to help nurture and grow young businesses here in Austin while creating a vibrant, inviting, and easily accessible neighborhood center that benefits the surrounding community.
The selection process began in November 2018, when 46 businesses applied for a chance to lease a space at the Box Bazaar. After the selection committee reviewed their applications, the highest-scoring 14 candidates were invited in December to give a five-minute pitch of their businesses. Ultimately, six were selected to participate in the pilot Box Bazaar project:
- Nailah I Akinyemi-Sankofa, Ɲàma Isé-Ọná
- Krissi Reeves and Holly McCord, High Kick Communications
- Winston G. Williams, Capital City Black Film Festival
- Kristen Harper and Michelle Flores, Remodel Boutique
- tk tunchez, Frida Friday ATX
- Azena Jones and E’Mon Carson, NomE’ NosRac Fashion Boutique
The project is a joint effort between many City of Austin departments—including Planning and Zoning, Public Works, Development Services, Economic Development, and the Office of Innovation—and part of Imagine Austin, a 30-year plan for the city that lays out a community vision for how the city can grow in a compact and connected way. The inaugural Box Bazaar will be located on city-owned land at 3511 Manor Road (off the intersection of Manor Road and Berkman Drive/E M Franklin Ave). One driving factor in selecting an East Austin site for the first installation was the desire to further city-wide goals of complete communities, economic opportunity and equity.Box Bazaar 1.0 will open soon; for details, visit the project website at austintexas.gov/boxbazaar. And when it does open, be sure to visit and show your support! The project will be evaluated based on tenant feedback and community input and may be replicated at another location at that time based on the community reception and feedback at the Manor Road location.