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2/26/2010

Innovation Center to Begin Construction

Innovation center construction to begin in Anderson County By Alison Newton Thursday, February 25, 2010 CLEMSON — Clemson University and the South Carolina Research Authority are scheduled to begin construction in mid-March on an approximately 43,000-square-foot innovation center complex in Anderson County. The complex at the Clemson University Advanced Materials Center has been planned for several years. The building will house new, high-tech companies focused on commercializing advanced materials for use in optoelectronics, automotive applications and the biosciences. Harper Corp. of Greenville is the design/build contractor on the project, with Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood serving as architect of record. Construction is expected to be complete by early 2011, according to a Clemson statement. Clemson's innovation center will occupy about 25,000 square feet of the space and be dedicated to supporting tenants interested in growing start-up companies or “landing parties” associated with Clemson research, especially in advanced materials. The research authority will house secure research in about 18,000 square feet of the center, with the remaining square footage devoted to a common area and collaboration space, according to the statement. The complex will be adjacent to the Clemson University Advanced Materials Research Laboratory, where Clemson offers research facilities in optical materials/photonics and electron microscopy and houses research programs. Chris Przirembel, vice president for research and economic development at the university, said the complex will complete the “innovation chain” that links academic research to the marketplace — and jobs. “Providing office and laboratory space for fledgling companies that want to start businesses and create jobs based on university discoveries is an exciting prospect,” Przirembel said. “We look forward to creating an environment that nurtures new business for South Carolina, particularly in advanced materials, where we know there is great opportunity for growth.” Przirembel said Innovate Anderson, a public-private economic development organization, is a critical partner in the development of the Advanced Materials Center. The innovation center complex is being paid for through a public-private partnership that includes Advance SC, the Duke Energy Foundation, federal agencies and South Carolina Research Infrastructure Act money, in addition to Clemson and the research authority. Earlier this month, for example, officials said the university will receive $100,000 of federal money for the center. That money is part of almost $5 million worth of appropriations for the university in the fiscal year 2010 federal budget, university officials said. © 2010 Scripps Newspaper Group — Online

 

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