Input sought on new center
Developers to talk innovation
By: Kayla Carrick, City Editor
Issue date: 11/28/07 Section: City
Representatives from the largest lab developer in the Triangle will be on hand Thursday to receive community input on their plans to make UNC a leading destination for research scientists and venture capitalist firms.
The high-profile Pasadena, Calif.-based developer Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. plans to partner with the University to build an 85,000-square-foot business incubator on the property of Carolina North, UNC's planned satellite campus.
The project is slated for the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the former Municipal Drive.
Early plans for the innovation center call for office and laboratory space, along with business experts and venture capital firms to invest in the adolescent companies, said Alexandria CEO Joel Marcus.
University officials and Alexandria representatives have worked for more than a year to develop the model for the center.
"It's pretty much a done deal," Marcus said. "We'll build the building and create a number of different environments to attract companies and start a venture capital presence in the building.
"We hope to make it one of many buildings to make a high-tech campus adjacent to the University."
Alexandria, which operates properties in Europe, Asia and across the U.S., is a publicly traded real estate investment trust focused on the operation of life science properties.
Recent Alexandria purchases include land in Boston from the Harvard-affiliated Joslin Diabetes Center for the construction of a life sciences research facility to help the center in its quest to cure diabetes.
While Alexandria specializes in bioscience, Jack Evans, executive director of Carolina North, said the innovation center proposed for Chapel Hill will not be limited to life science start-ups.
Marcus said it is likely that "clean technology" companies, which specialize in increasing efficiency while reducing energy consumption, waste and pollution, will have a strong presence at the innovation center. "Cleantech" companies are attracting the highest venture capital in today's market, Marcus said.
University leaders submitted design concepts, including the size and orientation of the building, to town staff in August. The Chapel Hill Town Council will review the concept plan at a Jan. 23 meeting.
Thursday's community meeting will allow residents to get a glimpse at the concept plans and ask questions about how it will fit into the larger plans for Carolina North.
"We think of it as a two-way communication," Evans said.
Pending the town council's approval, Alexandria will build the center and retain ownership and leasing rights for 40 years. After 40 years, the building's ownership would return to the University.
For the center and the businesses it incubates to be successful, it is vital that Alexandria play a part in the center's development.
UNC lacks the national and international network to help recruit companies to campus and has little experience in attracting venture capital firms to help the companies grow, Marcus said.
"The University is good at many things, but these are skill sets that are outside their normal areas of expertise - and we're a leader in that area."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
ATTEND THE MEETING
Time: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday
Location: Robert and Pearl Seymour Center, 2551 Homestead Road
Info: research.unc.edu/cn/
community.php
The high-profile Pasadena, Calif.-based developer Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. plans to partner with the University to build an 85,000-square-foot business incubator on the property of Carolina North, UNC's planned satellite campus.
The project is slated for the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the former Municipal Drive.
Early plans for the innovation center call for office and laboratory space, along with business experts and venture capital firms to invest in the adolescent companies, said Alexandria CEO Joel Marcus.
University officials and Alexandria representatives have worked for more than a year to develop the model for the center.
"It's pretty much a done deal," Marcus said. "We'll build the building and create a number of different environments to attract companies and start a venture capital presence in the building.
"We hope to make it one of many buildings to make a high-tech campus adjacent to the University."
Alexandria, which operates properties in Europe, Asia and across the U.S., is a publicly traded real estate investment trust focused on the operation of life science properties.
Recent Alexandria purchases include land in Boston from the Harvard-affiliated Joslin Diabetes Center for the construction of a life sciences research facility to help the center in its quest to cure diabetes.
While Alexandria specializes in bioscience, Jack Evans, executive director of Carolina North, said the innovation center proposed for Chapel Hill will not be limited to life science start-ups.
Marcus said it is likely that "clean technology" companies, which specialize in increasing efficiency while reducing energy consumption, waste and pollution, will have a strong presence at the innovation center. "Cleantech" companies are attracting the highest venture capital in today's market, Marcus said.
University leaders submitted design concepts, including the size and orientation of the building, to town staff in August. The Chapel Hill Town Council will review the concept plan at a Jan. 23 meeting.
Thursday's community meeting will allow residents to get a glimpse at the concept plans and ask questions about how it will fit into the larger plans for Carolina North.
"We think of it as a two-way communication," Evans said.
Pending the town council's approval, Alexandria will build the center and retain ownership and leasing rights for 40 years. After 40 years, the building's ownership would return to the University.
For the center and the businesses it incubates to be successful, it is vital that Alexandria play a part in the center's development.
UNC lacks the national and international network to help recruit companies to campus and has little experience in attracting venture capital firms to help the companies grow, Marcus said.
"The University is good at many things, but these are skill sets that are outside their normal areas of expertise - and we're a leader in that area."
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
ATTEND THE MEETING
Time: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday
Location: Robert and Pearl Seymour Center, 2551 Homestead Road
Info: research.unc.edu/cn/
community.php
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