Access Dental Laboratories, Syracuse, NY: Technician Realizes Longtime Dream of Lab Ownership

In 2020, Todd Reid took the leap he had long been dreaming about: he left his job as a ceramist to open his own laboratory. He had meticulously prepared, creating a 40-page business plan, finding a building to purchase, securing a line of credit and hiring a grant writer who eventually helped him land two economic development grants totaling $700,000.

However, his careful planning hit a snag when the purchase of the building fell through and then the pandemic hit, delaying his timeline. At the end of 2021, Reid found an ideal location: a 3,600-square-foot building on the campus of the Syracuse Community Health Center in Syracuse, NY, with a dental office on the first floor. It has plenty of room for growth, an important feature because one of the grants requires him to hire and train about 40 people from the local community over the next seven years.

But first, the space needed a complete renovation, including tearing down and building walls to create a...