On December 8, Dallas-based Comerica Bank revealed plans for Comerica BusinessHQ, a collaborative space that will provide integral services and value to small businesses in the Southern sector of Dallas. The bank is transforming idle real estate on the first floor of its R.L. Thornton location into a unique community resource that provides high-need, high-opportunity small businesses with the necessary tools to develop, grow and endure. Through a mix of coworking spaces, incubation fellowships and technical assistance, Comerica BusinessHQ will address the three essential needs of aspiring small businesses: capital, cultivation and connectivity. The approximately 8,000-square-foot area is currently undergoing renovations. When it reopens in March 2023, it will have clear, engaging signage illuminated with blue lights at night.
“Comerica has long been invested in the South Dallas community, and we are taking our commitment a step further with the creation of Comerica BusinessHQ,” says Irvin Ashford Jr., chief community officer. “It is imperative that we help provide solutions to the challenges facing entrepreneurs in this footprint.”
BusinessHQ will function as a part of the Dallas Small Business Ecosystem and serve as an epicenter of vetted, credible community partners to present effective and impactful small-business incubation and technical assistance. The project lead, Brandon Q. Jones, Comerica’s regional external affairs manager, has secured a growing roster of partners that includes Community Incubation Partner the Veteran Women’s Enterprise Center (VWEC), as well as BCL of Texas, the City of Dallas, Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce, DreamSpring, Impact Ventures, National Youth Chamber of Commerce powered by Project Still I Rise, Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce of Texas DFW, State Fair of Texas and United Way of Metropolitan Dallas.
“To ensure this initiative is truly community-driven, we plan to empower our broad network of strategic community partners to facilitate programming and assist in identifying small businesses for BusinessHQ opportunities,” Jones says. “The key findings from our community-based focus groups and meetings with local leaders, stakeholders and small-business owners indicated we should focus on…technology and connectivity, access and security, and membership and exclusivity to make the most impact as we continue to contribute to the Southern sector’s economic revitalization efforts.”
Click here to learn more about Comerica Bank’s Comerica BusinessHQ.
Established in 1849, Comerica Bank operates in Texas, Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada and Mexico.
