University, city agree on technology park location

May 18, 2009

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and city officials have taken a major step toward the development of a joint technology park that could bring hundreds of new jobs to the community.

The city and the Whitewater Community Development Authority have agreed to locate the Whitewater University Technology Park in the southeastern section of the existing city Business Park, house the planned UW-Whitewater Innovation Center on the site and to acquire additional land for the entire project.

The project is estimated to cost approximately just over $10 million, according to UW-Whitewater Chancellor Richard Telfer. A major part of the park is the Innovation Center, budgeted to cost approximately $5 million. The Technology Park Board is applying for a $3.4 million federal Economic Development Administration grant.

Since much, but not all, of the land is currently owned by the Community Development Authority, the site will be less expensive to develop than some alternatives, Telfer said.

"The Center will allow our faculty and students to work on ideas that will help encourage the development of new businesses," Telfer said. "What we're looking for is a place to bring all the different strengths of the university together to help with business creation."

UW-Whitewater already is the home of the Wisconsin Innovation Service Center, an agency that provides consultation and preliminary market research to manufacturers, technology businesses and independent inventors and its director, Ronald "Bud" Gayhart has been instrumental in helping develop plans for the technology park Telfer added.

Assuming the federal grant is realized, the Technology Park Board hopes to begin construction of the Innovation Center later this year, said Whitewater City Manager Kevin Brunner.

"I think we've taken an extremely important step in having the community and UW-Whitewater working hand in hand to develop jobs, not just for the university but for the surrounding community and region as well," Brunner said.

The Whitewater University Technology Park will be located on 125 acres bordered by Corporate Drive, Howard Road, Bluff Road and Moraine View Park on the city's East side.

The Innovation Center is designed to foster the development of new businesses based on UW-Whitewater research. Telfer and Brunner both said they have prospective tenants in mind.

Telfer said the planned technology park will be built "green" to complement existing wetlands and parklands on the site. UW-Whitewater has made a major commitment to green policies in recent years, going so far as to schedule maintenance work on its buildings at times that minimize wasteful energy use.

The current Whitewater Business Park was developed in 1986 and is one of the largest office and industrial parks in southern Wisconsin. It covers 540 acres with room for expansion and the 20 businesses now located in the park employ about 2,300 persons.