December 8, 2010
Hometown Innovation team will use state incentives to renovate downtown location into new base of operations
Gov. Nixon announces creation of 135 new jobs in Cape Girardeau at innovative health care cooperative
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Gov. Jay Nixon was in Cape Girardeau today to announce the award of more than $1.3 million in Missouri Quality Jobs and $750,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding that will help a local health care cooperative expand and create 135 new jobs over the next year. The state incentives will assist the Hometown Innovation Team as it renovates 90,000 square feet in downtown Cape Girardeau to serve as the organization's headquarters.
The 135 jobs to be created by December 2011 through the $10 million capital investment project include positions ranging from sales and phone technicians, to dentists and oral surgeons. The Governor was joined at the announcement by company officials and community leaders.
"This new investment, along with the 135 jobs it will create, is wonderful news for Cape Girardeau's downtown and the overall economy of this region," Gov. Nixon said. "Health care innovation has been identified as a high-growth industry of the future for Missouri to focus investment in. We are doing just that with the Hometown Innovation Team, whose expansion was made possible through a strong incentive package from the state of Missouri."
The announcement comes just one week after the Governor received the initial recommendations from the Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth. Led by private sector leaders from across Missouri, the initiative's recommendations include high-growth industries to be targeted for investment over the next five years. One of those industries is health sciences and services, including health care innovation.
To help bring the 135 new jobs to Cape Girardeau, Gov. Nixon's administration awarded the Hometown Innovation Team $1,352,895 in Missouri Quality Jobs incentives, which provides tax credits to businesses that create a predetermined number of jobs, among other qualifications. The state's incentive package also includes $750,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding, which will be used to offset the costs of purchasing equipment and to set up a training program for all new employees.
The Hometown Innovation Team is a health care management team created in 2005 by Weaver Dickerson, a Cape Girardeau native who serves as CEO and president. The team has been involved in selling affordable dental and vision insurance policies to individuals and businesses.
The success of the company led to plans to operate a health care cooperative, which will provide dental, vision and chiropractic services at sharply reduced or at-cost rates for members who pay dues. Hometown Innovation needed to establish a base of operations for the growing business, and Dickerson chose downtown Cape Girardeau for the location.
Hometown Innovation Team is renovating three locations totaling approximately 90,000 square feet for its headquarters. The headquarters will include corporate offices, training facilities, and state-of-the art, full-service dental, vision and chiropractic clinic space.