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Baylor, TSTC, cities to build tech research park in Waco [Waco Tribune-Herald, Texas](Waco Tribune-Herald (TX) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 23--A group of local colleges and city governments, led by Baylor University and Texas State Technical College, will pour nearly $30 million into the old General Tire plant to develop a 300,000-square-foot technology research center beginning early next year. Baylor regents sealed the deal Thursday night by voting unanimously to spend $10 million to launch the project, matching a state grant that was awarded to TSTC. The refurbished facility at South Loop Drive and Orchard Lane in Waco would be the foundation of a technology research park. Scientists there would collaborate on projects including aviation, alternative fuels and the manufacture of advanced material, such as bulletproof and security components. A research park in Austin, Sematech, is credited with being a catalyst in the boom in computer chip manufacturing there. Called the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative, or BRIC, the venture involves an intricate coalition of public and private partners, including Baylor, TSTC, McLennan Community College, the cities of Waco and Bellmead, McLennan County and several local businesses. Baylor will formally announce the collaboration at 3 p.m. today at the Baylor University Law School. Initially, the facility will allow Baylor to expand its engineering department, enabling the school to offer a doctorate in engineering. Truell Hyde, Baylor's vice president for research, said graduate students in mechanical and electrical engineering will do all their research there, and interdisciplinary science centers will be housed there, as needed. What was once the main building at massive General Tire will become home to incubators for fledgling businesses and possibly existing businesses that want to take advantage of the research. Converting the former manufacturing plant to a high-tech center will begin in the spring of 2010, with completion planned for 2012. The center is expected to employ 300 its first year and 500 by 2014 -- direct employment that does not include spinoff jobs, according to a report the Perryman Group prepared on the potential impact of the research center and technology park. Hyde said the jobs will be "relatively good-paying, high-tech, faculty-type jobs. The types of jobs that will be attracted will be white-collar jobs." Hyde said the job figure in Perryman's report is not a guarantee, adding that he is "a pretty firm believer in underpromising and overdelivering." But Hyde said having a major research center in Waco will attract high-tech industries wanting to take advantage of emerging technologies and job training. Waco-based economist Ray Perryman sees the park generating $1.5 billion to $4.2 billion in economic impact in its first 15 years, while creating 8,618 to 22,656 jobs. Waco City Manager Larry Groth expressed confidence in the research center's potential for job creation and economic stimulus but added that it will be a process over years. Groth said the partnership of Waco's three higher-education institutions, local governments and industry will help make this successful. "You've got to have these institutions committed to its success. Baylor's committed to our town, and they believe we're going to be a growth area," Groth said. "This has the potential for significant impact in our community. But it's not quick. This is a long-term commitment to doing things right." Waco businessman Clifton Robinson donated the building to Baylor. Local Realtor Bland Cromwell, who owned a portion of the building, was also one of the donors. "I'm on Baylor's long-range planning committee, and at one of our meetings two years ago, I was asked if I owned that building, and I said that I did. I then was asked if I would be amenable to donating it to Baylor as a research center. It took me all of two seconds to say yes," Robinson said. He said the formation of BRIC is one of the most important events in Waco since the opening of James Connally Air Force Base, which later became home to Texas State Technical College. "There are literally millions, if not billions, of research dollars to be spent on college campuses, especially here in Texas," added Robinson, who has owned the Tribune-Herald since Aug. 1. "To say I'm an advocate of this project would be an understatement." Enthusiasm for the potential of the collaboration extends well beyond Robinson. Baylor economics professor Tom Kelly, who has seen Perryman's report, said: "There's a lot of opportunity there. In fact, I'm more excited about this than anything I've seen in Waco in a long, long time because it's the first time we've had the benefit of bringing the university and colleges and all the different business firms together." Kelly said he remembers the devastating impact the closing of General Tire had on the community in the mid-1980s. He likened it to the effect the Connally Air Force Base's closure had. However, much as TSTC's presence helped mitigate, if not reverse, the damage caused by the base closing, Kelly said he thinks the consortium will have the same effect. "It seems like every time these negative things have happened, we've kind of taken a lemon and made it into something that's had a longer-term benefit for the community," he said. Waco mayor Virginia DuPuy said: "I'm thrilled about it. Bringing so many resources under one roof, linked by Baylor, will create a cross-fertilization of ideas and so much potential." After General Tire quit making tires at South Loop Drive and Orchard Lane, the Robinsons bought the massive General Tire complex 15 years ago and lease out about 1.4 million square feet, mostly as warehouse space. The Robinson family and Cromwell gave to Baylor the red-brick building that is most visible from South Loop Drive. Brian Nicholson, assistant vice president for facilities planning and construction at Baylor, said the three-story building is built of reinforced concrete, and its floors are supported by concrete columns. This makes it stout enough to withstand heavy-duty experiments. It will get a new roof, upgraded parking, new signs and windows, and a new atrium/lobby with a clearly defined entrance. Some asbestos still needs to be abated, but General Tire had already removed most of it. Baylor essentially is creating a shell to be filled by various partners in this venture. In the building, 125,000 square feet will be allocated to Baylor, 45,000 square feet to TSTC and 50,000 square feet to industry. It also will include 30,000 square feet of public and private meeting space that can be used for national technology seminars and training, as well as an additional 50,000 square feet reserved for future use. The $10 million approved Thursday by Baylor regents will go toward Phase 1 of construction. The state also has pledged $10 million, giving the project $20 million in seed money. Hyde said the Waco-McLennan County Economic Development Corp. is poised to contribute $5 million. The Waco City Council and the McLennan County Commissioners Court will vote on formally allocating the money. The city of Bellmead also may contribute up to $1.5 million, Hyde said. Baylor's initial investment of $10 million "certainly is just a start," he said, adding the school will continue to pump money into the center as it hires new faculty members who need lab space. He said industries that want space in the center will sign leases, and he also expects federal funding to come Baylor's way. State Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, and Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, worked to get funds to help transform the old building. "The state money was just seed money," Averitt said. "We had the opportunity, and I happened to be in the right place at the right time to help procure some seed money for the project and get it off the ground." Averitt said any possible future funding from the state for BRIC "would depend on what their needs are, what their requests might be and what they'd be using it for. We'd want to evaluate any future requests on how it fits into the scheme of using our economic development funds at the state level." Dunnam said it's imperative that partners in the venture be good stewards of the initial $10 million in state funds if future requests are to be successful. However, he said he and Averitt "are well-positioned in the legislature to advocate for McLennan County and the surrounding area." BRIC, with a variety of players, did not take shape overnight. "It took Baylor eight or nine years to start down this path, and it will be 10 or 15 years before we are where we want to be," Hyde said. But almost immediately upon opening in 2012, the center will give the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce a weapon with which to target high-tech industry. "The whole area of research and technology has not been our strong suit in Waco, but this facility and academic commitment to research from Baylor gives us a chance to be competitive," said Jim Vaughan, president of the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce. "There are university-based research parks all over the country, and they have a lot of appeal. We haven't had one, so we're not in that league. This gives us a chance to play." Without a center, Baylor still has garnered a reputation in research through the Baylor Advance Research Institute. It has collaborated with TSTC and approached local, regional and national industries about partnerships. Significant gains made in recent years toward Baylor's goal of becoming a leading national research university made it easy for the school's regents to approve the initial funding, regent chairman Dary Stone said. "Sometimes, when you create a new department or curriculum, it's kind of speculative," Stone said. "But with this venture, just the announcement of it is a huge benefit to the university's reputation." Stone added, "I can't imagine something that's going to be more influential to the university's future... This will attract research dollars, it will attract both great research and great teaching faculty, along with great students. This is exactly what we want to be all about." Hyde said he envisions start-up companies taking incubator space to grow their businesses; advanced training and workforce development provided by both Baylor and TSTC; Baylor engineering students taking part in a new doctorate program; and faculty and students from around the world coming to Waco. Working with industry Baylor is talking with high-profile local companies about getting involved. One is L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, which employs 1,600 and modifies aircraft at the TSTC-Waco airport. "We've talked with Baylor about potentially doing some projects that would benefit not only L-3 but all of the aerospace and aviation industries locally," L-3 spokesman Lance Martin said. "This could include research involving advanced composites, structural technologies and new materials." Bill Segura, chancellor of the TSTC System, said he's excited about TSTC's involvement with the research park. Working hand in hand with Baylor and other partners "will keep TSTC in the thick of the economic development business," he said. The school will take part in technology initiatives that create new companies and new jobs. Baylor's research agenda will drive the center, Segura said, and that likely will encompass state and national priorities such as energy, communications, advanced manufacturing, aerospace and security. "We might have faculty involved in applied research that emanates from the pure research of Baylor's faculty and students," Segura said. "We will stay attuned to emerging technology." More than 170 colleges and universities in North America have research parks, but that doesn't bother Hyde. He said he believes the local model will have a vision broad enough to keep it from becoming obsolete. It will not focus on a single area of technology research but rather change with the times and commercial demand, he said. Perryman, in his report, said Waco's proximity to Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, College Station and San Antonio gives it the opportunity to collaborate with prominent research centers in these communities. The research center in Waco, Perryman said, also could see benefit from "growth sectors" in Texas such as aerospace and aviation science, advanced materials and manufacturing, and energy. Kelly praised Hyde's leadership and vision throughout the planning and organization of the partnership. If all goes well, the end result could add up to immeasurable benefit for the community, state, nation and even the world, he said. Regarding Baylor's place among research universities, Kelly said, "What this does is it gives you an opportunity for collaboration, and you'll have a seat at the table. If you don't have that, you're going to be left out. "Now, what you do with it is up to you," he added. "We've seen the motivation, and we have the leadership in Truell Hyde. I'm really impressed with him, and I think he can take this thing a long way. It's a great opportunity for Baylor to accelerate its reputation as a research university." To see more of the Waco Tribune-Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.wacotrib.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Waco Tribune-Herald, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |