Interest grows for Rowan's Technology Park

Rowan University

It's only fitting that the first tenant of the Samuel H. Jones Innovation Center at the South Jersey Technology Park at Rowan University will be the College of Engineering. The nationally ranked school has an outstanding reputation for clinic-based work and industry partnerships, and its sponsored research is outgrowing the college's home.

But the college -- which plans to move some of its research into the facility in July -- is just the start of life at the Technology Park, located in Mantua Township just off Route 322 at the Route 55 interchange. The planned 25-building Technology Park will provide competitively priced, Class A facilities for budding entrepreneurs, start-up and established companies to bring innovative technologies to the marketplace.

"Now that our first building is completed, our marketing activity has increased significantly," said Tom Drury, CEO of the Technology Park. "As a result, we are now seeing very high interest from a variety of different technology firms, both large and small. The firms are interested not only in the facility, but also in the value of the close affiliation with Rowan that results from location at the Technology Park.

"We anticipate leasing the entire first building, and are looking forward to ground breaking for building No. 2 as soon as possible."

Any of those businesses should find a suitable home at the center, which features 45,000 square feet of fit-to-order facilities, a mix of laboratories and laboratory/office space for private technology-based firms and for Rowan-sponsored research. The first building of the Technology Park is in the heart of one of the fastest growing parts of the state. In addition, the Samuel H. Jones Innovation Center will be home to the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and a technology business incubator operated by the Rohrer College of Business at Rowan University.

"Companies located at the Technology Park benefit from the "Rowan connection,' " Drury said. "They'll be able to tap into some of the brightest young researchers and business minds in the Delaware Valley and work with nationally recognized professors in engineering, sciences and business.

"Faculty-led student teams in engineering and sciences assist companies of all sizes to accelerate product development activity, while business planning and other business functions are supported by comparable teams from the Colleges of Business and Communications."

The Technology Park is a public/private partnership supported by numerous organizations and individuals, including:

New Jersey Economic Development Authority -- $5.8 million

New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology -- $1.5 million

South Jersey businessman Samuel H. Jones -- $1 million

Rowan University Foundation -- $1 million.

Patricia Quigley is assistant director of the Office of Media and Public Relations at Rowan University.

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For more information on the Technology Park, visit www.sjtechpark.com or contact Thomas Drury at drury@rowan.edu or (856) 256-5099.