Tuesday, Jul. 21, 2009

USC to kickstart building in Innovista

University to explore ‘other strategies’ to get two buildings built

USC president Harris Pastides on Monday expressed growing concern over whether the university’s private development partner can construct buildings and recruit businesses to its downtown research campus, Innovista.

Pastides said the university is moving forward with “other strategies” for building the Horizon II and Discovery II buildings, which are intended to attract private firms and entrepreneurs and create jobs from the university research breakthroughs.

“We are supportive (of the developer), but the university is now embarking on other strategies,” he said.

Both he and new chief financial officer William “Ted” Moore blamed the tight credit market for the struggles of Michigan-based developer Kale Roscoe to secure financing for the Horizon II building — the first of two he has been contracted to build.

“In the event that he cannot secure funding and complete the deal, then we will begin looking elsewhere,” Moore said. “Time is passing us.”

Pastides said Roscoe has “weeks rather than months” to find financing or be let go.

Roscoe could not immediately be reached for comment.

Neither Pastides nor Moore would provide details of the new “strategies,” but in the past, university officials did not rule out hiring another private developer or self financing for the building.

“We’ll be as creative as we have to be,” Moore said.

Roscoe is the second developer to be tapped to build Horizon II and Discovery II, both of which were expected to be completed by 2006.

In other developments, Moore said he has a new plan to come up with nearly $50 million to outfit labs and offices in the Horizon I and Discovery 1 buildings — two five-story, tax-payer-funded buildings in the Innovista that have stood all but empty for nearly a year.

Moore said the university already has $16 million to “up fit” two floors of Horizon I to house endowed chairs Kenneth Reifsnider and Brian Benicewicz and their teams.

Endowed chairs are specially-funded researchers who are renowned in their fields. Reifsnider’s expertise is in future fuels and Benicewicz’s is in nanotechnology.

Those researchers could occupy Horizon I, located at Main and Blossom streets, by the end of the year, Moore said.

Moore said he hopes to outfit three floors of Discovery I with cash on hand and by landing $18 million in National Institutes of Health grants. Discovery I, at Greene and Lincoln streets, would house the university’s public health researchers.

Getting people into Discovery I and Horizon I would be a huge boost for the budding campus, he said, which is to include shopping, homes, bars and restaurant — as well as research buildings — melding into an , urban, walkable “innovation district.”

“It’s very, very important” to get Innovista moving, Moore said. “It’s one of the highest priorities.”

Reach Wilkinson at (803) 771-8495.

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