North Kansas City’s first business incubator, iWerx, is on pace to open by the end of July.

The incubator, based at 1501 Burlington, will occupy one end of an 89,000-square-foot warehouse that Kroger once used as a regional headquarters.

The idea from iWerx came from the founders of EnCorps45, a local support organization for aspiring and established entrepreneurs over the age of 45. Launched in 2014, the group provides training and networking opportunities to “encore entrepreneurs.” It also helps them connect with younger entrepreneurs to form multigenerational companies.

The team behind Encorps45—Robert L. Curland, Bob Martin and Terri S. Turner—hit on the idea of starting an incubator for multigenerational businesses. Their advisers suggested they try North Kansas City, which offers 10-gigabit Internet connectivity through its KCFiber service.

When the EnCorps45 team presented their idea to the North Kansas City Business Council, they were quickly approached by two property owners, John Miller Sr. and John Miller Jr., who wanted to partner with them.

While EnCorps45 will be based at iWerx, the facility will work with any kind of business. Because iWerx will offer 10-gig connectivity, it’s likely that a lot of the interest will come from tech companies and those specializing in video and photography, which have to send huge files over the Internet.

In addition to operating iWerx on a day-to-day business, EnCorps45 also plans to offer programming and other support to clients. Incoming tenants will be able to take an assessment that will uncover skill or business needs they might have, allowing iWerx to tailor programming to them.

“Our goal is to bring them in, build them and then move them out,” Martin said. The team at iWerx is talking to the Kauffman Foundation, Metropolitan Community College, the University of Missouri-Kansas City and others about collaborating.

Interested? Contact iWerx at 816-588-9130 or info@iwerx.org.