Michael Bloomberg, New York’s pro-business mayor and an entrepreneur himself, has his sights on the South Bronx as the next hub for start-up businesses. The mayor and the city’s Economic Development Corporation broke ground on a “Business Incubator,” in the BankNote building, on Garrison Avenue in Hunts Point, on Nov. 3.

The new Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator will offer support and affordable office space for people looking to start their own business ventures. The 11,000-square-foot space, which the city expects to have ready by February, will be able to accommodate up to 400 entrepreneurs, according to a press release.

“More than 15,000 new businesses were established in the Bronx in 2008, the most recent period for which there is data, and we’re creating the new Bronx Business Incubator to build on that momentum,” Bloomberg said.

Potential tenants can rent desk space for $295 per month and shared workstations for $195 per month. The incubator will also host networking events, and provide business training services and other support.

This incubator will be the sixth to open across the city, but the first planned for the Bronx. Bloomberg initiated the program in 2008, during Wall Street’s economic meltdown, in an attempt to get the city’s business economy back on its feet.

“Based upon the incubator’s success in Manhattan, the Bronx program is expected to help many new and developing small businesses flourish in our communities,” Bronx Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo said in a statement.

The Bronx has the highest unemployment rate of all the boroughs, at 13 percent.

“It can be hard to be an entrepreneur, so any help we can afford new small businesses is welcome, especially in this economy,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. “It is my hope that this new business incubator will lead to new job growth right here in the Bronx.”

The BankNote Building, a former money-printing factory built in 1909, is currently home to organizations like Sustainable South Bronx, the Arthur Aviles Theatre and BAAD!

Ed. Note: For information on reserving a space in the new incubator, interested parties can contact Sunshine Suites by visiting www.sunshineny.com/bronx.