Research Park News
Boston
The Mystic Valley Development Commission (MVDC) recently secured a $5.5 million loan from Citizens Bank of Massachusetts to finance the final land acquisitions for the first phase of TeleCom City, a 200-acre technology development project along the banks of the Malden River in the cities of Medford, Malden and Everett. MVDC was created by an act of the state legislature in 1996. With the loan from Citizens, the Commission will purchase the project's remaining three parcels of land, which total about eight acres in Medford. The project also has received more than $25 million in state support and $13 million in federal funding. Phase One, the construction of four 110,000-square-foot buildings on about 29 acres in Medford, is scheduled to begin in 2004.
Jefferson Parish, LA
Two sites in Jefferson Parish are among the frontrunners being considered by local economic development officials for a technology park, the Times-Picayune recently reported. Both sites could enable a campus of at least 25 acres to be built in the Avondale-Waggaman-Bridge City area and a less congested section of the parish, the newspaper states. A real estate consultant conducted a $95,000 survey that was funded by private donations in evaluating 19 potential sites for the park. The next step is to assess local demand. The park is expected to stimulate "good-quality, high-end" jobs and workforce development programs in area schools.
Piedmont Triangle, N.C.
A research park planned for North Carolina's Union Cross area is expected to bring jobs to the region's biotechnology and medical research industries, according to the Greensboro News & Record. The Alliance Science and Technology Park, named after the Winston-Salem Alliance Inc. economic development group that is spearheading its creation, will benefit the Winston-Salem, High Point, Greensboro and Asheboro communities once construction of a nearby bypass is complete. The nonprofit Alliance has agreed to purchase 190 acres for a variety of possible uses for the park, including testing and research labs, academic medical centers, warehousing and medical and dental labs or offices. As many as 600 additional acres could provide room for expansion of the park, the News & Record reported.