West Virginia University is requesting $10 million from the state to begin development of a research park that school officials say will serve as a magnet for high technology businesses interested in locating near a major research university. The project is expected to create 2,600 jobs, officials said.
If approved, the funding would be used to develop sites on the old poultry farm to accommodate 250,000 square feet of office and lab space and construction of a 25,000-square-foot building to house a business incubator and early park occupants. WVU is seeking the funds from among $200 million in economic development grants the state is expected to award this fall.
“There are several companies that have expressed intent to build in the park and others who wish to lease space in the building,”said John Weete, vice president for research and economic development at WVU and president of the WVU Research Corp.”We want to create a place for them to move into immediately and start doing their work in an atmosphere for them to prosper.”
The project builds on a national trend tying research parks at major universities to economic development. A notable example is the Research Triangle Park associated with Duke and North Carolina State universities and the University of North Carolina. Pennsylvania State University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Purdue University and the University of Maryland are other schools with established research parks.
The parks focus would reflect the Universitys research strengths in the areas of biometrics, energy, advanced materials sciences, environmental sciences, information technologies and homeland security, Dr. Weete explained.
Biotechnology companies are also interested in joining forces with WVU because of the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, he added. One of the first occupants is expected to be Protea Biosciences Inc., a Morgantown biotechnology firm collaborating with WVU on researching innovative treatments for cancer and other diseases. In his State of the State speech, Gov. Bob Wise recognized Protea founder Steve Turner for his entrepreneurship.
“In the short term, I fully expect the research park to become a center of a biotechnology
industry that does not currently exist in West Virginia,”Weete said.
The first stage of the project would create 1,000 jobs with an annual payroll of $46 million, according to Weete. The University is almost ready to initiate the first stage, which should take 15-18 months to complete.
WVU s long-term goal for the park includes a 650,000-square-foot expansion over several years to accommodate a total 2,600 jobs, he added.
The park is expected to generate $41 million in property taxes and $69 million in state income taxes in its first 30 years, plus additional revenues stemming from the facilitys construction and excise or other taxes employees pay in retail and related expenditures, Weete noted.
“A very conservative estimate shows that the state can expect to get a greater than 10-fold return on its investment,”he said.
Projected overall cost of the project is expected to exceed $100 million. The importance of the states $10 million investment is that it can be leveraged for future financing required to complete the park, he added.
WVU has been designated a Doctoral/Research UniversityExtensive by the Carnegie Foundation, placing it among the top 154 research universities in the nation. The schools research funding has grown from $60 million to $134 million over the last four years. In two years, this research has led to 55 invention disclosures, 45 U.S. patent applications, eight U.S. patents, eight license agreements and three start-up companies.
“The rapid growth of our research enterprise and technology transfer activities make the WVU research park a very attractive site to attract high technology businesses and for new start-up companies,”Weete said.