Dec. 4, 2009 ---

The Cal Poly Technology Park construction is underway, and the Chamber’s Economic Development Committee had a chance to visit the site on Dec. 2.

The 25,000-square-foot building will serve as a home on the university campus for technology-based businesses, said Susan Opava, Cal Poly’s dean of Research and Graduate Programs.

“This has been ongoing for nearly 13 years, and I’ve been involved since the beginning,” Opava said in a presentation at the Dec. 2 Economic Development Committee meeting. “The leasable space will be beneficial to both permanent, stable companies and more transitional companies that need an incubator environment to grow.”

Opava and Jim Dunning, California Central Coast Research Partnership (C3RP) project manager, provided updated information to the Chamber committee, and later took committee members to the construction site. The building is located on the Northeast corner of the university campus near the Dairy Science Complex.

The projected completion date for the building is May 2010, with tenants expected to move in some time in September 2010.

When finished, the Technology Park will increase collaboration between Cal Poly and the technology industry, and enhance the ability of park tenants to draw from the expertise of many Cal Poly faculty and students, Opava said.

“We’re actively discussing leases with six stable companies who have expressed a serious interest in moving on campus,” Dunning said at the meeting. “But we’re reserving space for more transitional companies that will benefit from Cal Poly’s services.”

He added that the Technology Park will offer the three key elements for a small company’s survival: flexible space, a good management/mentor/advisory team, and service providers. The fledgling companies will be offered flexible lease terms in 3,000 to 5,000-square-foot offices with laboratory use, shared conference spaces and more.

“Hopefully, in September, we will have at least three potential companies to fill that space,” Dunning said.

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