CU-ICAR Center for Emerging Technologies brings new dimension to the automotive research campus
June 4, 2010
GREENVILLE, SC – June 4, 2010 – Clemson University broke ground Fridayfor the Center for Emerging Technologies at the Clemson UniversityInternational Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR), and officialssaid the first multi-tenant building on the research campus adds animportant component to the campus community and its service to theautomotive industry.
Entrepreneurs and their innovative problem-solving are crucial to theautomotive industry’s ability to change and improve, Clemson UniversityPresident James F. Barker said. This building, which offers space foremerging companies in the transportation and energy sectors to developtechnologies based on Clemson research or technologies that complementthe research of our faculty and students, completes the innovation chainfrom the laboratory to the consumer end-user of technology.
Above: Architects’ rendering of the Center for Emerging Technologies
The 60,000-square-foot center represents a total investment of $11million. The Clemson University Real Estate Foundation received $3million from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic DevelopmentAdministration. The Center for Emerging Technologies will be built onproperty adjacent to the AutoPark and tower housing the CU-ICARPartnership Office, St. Francis VRUM fitness center and Carolina FirstGallery in Technology Neighborhood One.
The Center for Emerging Technologies will provide office,administrative and laboratory space for both new companies and existingcompanies that wish to expand their base in the United States or theSoutheast, CU-ICAR Executive Director Robert Geolas said. This is acritical facility. We have provided some space to new companies in ourexisting facilities, but the demand far exceeds what we are able tooffer. As new discoveries come out of the Campbell Graduate EngineeringCenter and other partners’ research and development activities, thisbuilding will help us grow South Carolina’s knowledge economy.
The city of Greenville also partnered with the university in theEconomic Development Administration grant application and wasinstrumental in the funding. Mayor Knox White congratulated CU-ICAR onbehalf of the city.
The Center for Emerging Technologies is another major step forward forthe CU-ICAR campus, he said. This facility will serve as a launchingpad for leading-edge companies in the transportation and energy sectorswhile providing more job opportunities, investment in our community andkeeping CU-ICAR and Greenville in the forefront internationally.
Both the city of Greenville and Greenville County supported the projectby providing economic development incentives.
“This new Center for Emerging Technologies will bear directly on theessence of a vibrant free enterprise economy: entrepreneurs, innovationand market exposure, noted H.G. “Butch” Kirven Jr., director of theGreenville Area Development Corp. and chairman of the Greenville CountyCouncil. “This reflects the vision and world-class leadership providedby Clemson University and its International Center for AutomotiveResearch.
Sage Automotive Interiors, a spinoff company started by former employeesof Milliken and Co. who have purchased the company’s automotive fabricdivision, signed a letter of intent to become the first tenant to occupythe center with a commitment to approximately 15,000 square feet ofspace.
Approximately 7,000 square feet in the center will be designated as whatGeolas called a technology café, incubator space for internationalcompanies. Part of the advantage for entrepreneurial companies will bethe availability of cubicle or small office space with more flexibleterms than a traditional long-term lease, Geolas said.
The requirement of large financial investment in infrastructure can bean obstacle for cash-strapped new companies, he explained. Theavailability of a ‘soft-landing’ site that does not require that kind ofinvestment could make the difference between success and failure.
Construction of the Center for Emerging Technologies is expected to becomplete by spring 2011.
