The Development Authority of Cherokee County's 2010 business plan includes researching the possibility of locating a business incubator within the county. A portion of the DACC staff as well as board member Pat Comeaux recently took a tour of a business incubator located in Hall County, Georgia. The Manufacturing Development Center (MDC) is a 5013C, business incubator located in the city of Gainesville. The incubator is housed in the old featherbone toy building and is approximately 77,000 square feet. The MDC leases the property through the Lanier Technical College Foundation and charges the tenants rent. The tenants must have an idea, business plan, passion for their product, and demonstrate good business practices. The tenants are then placed into the program based on the soundness of their business model, the likelihood that required capital funding will be realized, and the prospect of survival beyond the incubator program.

The MDC was started in 2007 and in its three years has had seven companies graduate which in turn created 78 new jobs and four million dollars in new investment for Hall County. The University of Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology and Lanier Technical College all have representative's onsite to provide assistance to the tenants. The DACC is excited at the thought of creating a business incubator for Cherokee residents.