Georgia Tech is considering the feasibility of expanding its Technology Enterprise Park into a health sciences and bioscience complex.
Last week, the research university received a grant of more than $460,000 from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration to study the idea. The area encompassed in the study includes 60 acres near the existing park, which lies to the west of the Downtown Connector in Midtown. The park was established in 2004.
“This grant provides us an exceptional opportunity for Georgia Tech and the city of Atlanta to help create high-paying jobs and economic opportunity for the city’s west side,” Chris Downing, associate vice president of the school’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, said in a posting on Tech’s news portal.
Georgia Tech has increasingly become a magnet for high-tech firms. Major companies such as NCR, Worldpay US, AT&T and Kaiser Permanente have cited the school as a major reason for locating new operations in Midtown. Georgia Tech is also preparing to start the second phase of its Technology Square and the new High Performance Computing Center to the east of the Connector.
Companies are battling for skilled graduates and to tap into the knowledge base of Tech’s faculty. Universities also are increasingly seeking partnerships with private enterprise to fund their research.
According to a posting on Georgia Tech’s website, the school is considering property that includes land controlled by Tech, the Atlanta Housing Authority and the city. The idea is to expand the center to grow existing companies and start-ups developed at Tech and nearby universities, including Emory, the Morehouse School of Medicine and Clark Atlanta University.
About the Author
