Specialized Tech Incubators and Research Parks Hope to Build Clusters

Several recent project announcements highlight communities using incubators and research parks, some of the tools for technology-based economic development, in specialized formats to capitalize on existing strengths and nurture additional growth of clusters of related tech firms. Such targeted approaches can help to focus other TBED activities for additional benefits. For example, workforce training can be designed for the particular technology sector rather than tailored at higher costs to the needs of several unrelated technology firms in a general technology incubator or research park. Other savings can come in promotional and marketing strategies, tie-ins to university research capabilities, and specific EPA or OSHA regulations. Examples of some of the projects underway include:

In Greenville, ME, an incubator specializing in wood composites was given life earlier this month when the State Senate passed a spending bill that includes $225,000 for the incubator. The authorizing legislation provides that the Greenville facility will house and support businesses seeking to commercialize wood composite materials, most being developed at the University of Maine's Advanced Composite Center. An estimated $1.5 million project, the incubator becomes the latest in a larger statewide network of incubators initiated by the State Legislature in 2000 to encourage business growth in new and emerging industry sectors.

An agricultural technology research park is in the works for the City of Belvidere in Boone County, IL. The Rockford Register Star recently reported a $500,000 federal grant was approved for the Belvidere-Boone New Uses Agricultural Park. The research park will be built on 700 acres of land, the article states. Plans for the park include a 40,000-square-foot facility equipped with lab and office space, and shared conference rooms, and a 15,000-square-foot commercialization center. With the federal grant, the four-year project officially enters the start-up phase. Growth Dimensions, the county's economic development agency, is leading the drive to acquire additional funding for the park, which has received more than $130,000 from the City of Belvidere, Boone County and the private sector. Northern Illinois University also is involved with the project's development.

A $2.6 billion automotive research park might be in the works for Greenville, SC, according to the Associated Press. Governor Mark Sanford and Clemson University officials both are interested in developing the park, but the question where to build it remains. A 407-acre site in Greenville has been targeted; however, Clemson is considering other locations. Supporters are hopeful the park will bring the region an estimated 20,000 new jobs. The park ultimately will serve as an R&D hub, with the university's automotive engineering graduate program and a wind tunnel housed under one roof.

And, at Kansas State University, the Bioprocessing and Industrial Value-Added Program (BIVAP) facility will serve the functions of an incubator, once construction is complete. The 2001 Kansas Legislature approved $3 million in state funds for construction of the facility and a $4 million loan. Among other features, the BIVAP building will offer space to allow application of novel processes of grains, such as plastic molding and thermal processing, and for industry to move in equipment and test market new products and processes at a semicommercial scale. It will be the first of five buildings planned for a Grain Science and Industry Department Complex at K-State.