University

USF Breaks Ground on New Research Park Building

THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA’S RESEARCH PARK is the home of scores of startup companies, from those founded around faculty-invented technologies to new student companies to tech startups that want to partner with USF and provide internship opportunities. The research space is also perpetually full.

But in the next 18 months, a 120,000-square-foot building will rise to house state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, office and meeting space for innovators, faculty research teams, startup companies and established firms, as well as retail and dining options. The new building will be located at the northeast corner of Spectrum Boulevard and Fowler Avenue, and will increase the park’s space inventory by 34 percent, from 349,807 square feet to 469,807 square feet.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held March 10 for the $42 million project. It has a targeted completion date of fall 2021.

The USF Research Park covers more than 112 acres and is home to more than 65 resident and affiliate companies, as well as the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame. More than half of the incubator companies focus on life sciences and nearly half are commercializing technologies developed by USF researchers.

Following a competitive process, a design/build team from Skanska and integrated architecture, design, planning and consulting firm Gensler were selected. CBRE, the largest commercial real estate services company in the world, was selected as marketer/broker for the project.

Gensler co-managing director Dawn Gunter, who is leading the project, earned her Master of Architecture from the USF School of Architecture & Community Design in 2010. Among her notable projects are 400 Channelside Drive, a premier mixed-use development in the Water Street Project, and Riverwalk Place Tower, planned to be the tallest building on Florida’s west coast.

The USF Research Park is at the heart of USF’s innovation enterprise, which a recent report from the Washington Economics Group says creates a $548 million annual economic impact statewide.

- VICKIE CHACHERE | Office of Research and Innovation