By STEPHEN SEITZ
Special to the Eagle Times
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Area leaders are confident that the newly launched Black River Innovation Campus (BRIC) will go far in revitalizing Springfield’s, and Vermont’s, economy.
As Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) put it, “Springfield is back!”
The initiative is the brainchild of Bob Flint, executive director of the Springfield Regional Development Corporation (SRDC) and one-time gubernatorial candidate Matt Dunne, founder and executive director of the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI). It takes a three-pronged approach to creating a digital economy for Vermont: provide work space for people who work for technology companies based elsewhere; create an entrepreneurship center; and create a full computer science program for students and get it into schools.
The project has raised $1 million so far.
”We intend to relaunch a digital economy in Springfield,” Flint told the crowd of about 50 who attended the announcement. “This is a public-private partnership. The state of Vermont has been our partner from day one.”
Flint said that Springfield has the fastest broadband in the country (10 gigabit), thanks to VTel’s broadband expansion project launched several years ago.
Gov. Phil Scott said that Vermont’s economic future lies in growing through technology.
“Technology can create good-paying jobs,” Scott said, “and help retain and attract youth to our state. We had a bit of good news in January, when the economy added 4,000 jobs, but we still lose four workers every single day.”
“The people of Springfield never lost their will to make things happen,” Welch said. “We’ve lost our way in Washington and are trying to find our way back. Cooperation, not conflict, increases your chances for success,”
Welch noted Springfield’s once prominent place in the machine tool industry during the 20th century.
“Those jobs are gone,” he said. “We’re not here to bring the jobs of the 20th century back.”
Dunne said one goal is to make rural areas competitive with urban ones.
“The rural areas never recovered from the recession,” he said. “All of our kids have to learn coding and computer science. Springfield already has what we like to call the three B’s of success: broadband, blues and beer.”
Flint said a few more things need to happen to ensure the project’s success.
“First, we need someone to run it,” he said. “There’s a job description at the Web site. We’d like to redevelop the old Park Street School, which would be an ideal location for BRIC. We want to put Springfield back in the ingenuity business.”
Afterward, Dunne explained how older workers could take advantage of BRIC.
“It’s a remote work project,” Dunne said. “There’s no age bracket, and all you need is to know a little bit about computers.”
Scott said the state’s role was to rally the state’s agencies in support of the project.
“”This was a huge multi-agency endeavor,” he said.
Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce executive director Caitlyn Christiana said the project could be what Springfield needs to bring business back to downtown.
“This is an incredible opportunity in so many ways,” she said. “”It’s all connected. If you bring in jobs and workers, you bring in business.”
More on the project can be found at its Web site, bricvt.org.
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