USC’s Innovista Research Campus: New partners brought in to boost project

USC has approved two partners — a Detroit developer and a Philadelphia investor — to help N.C. developer Craig Davis build the school’s Innovista research campus, billed by supporters as Columbia’s economic future.

The university’s board gave the new team 120 days, with a possible 60-day extension for contingencies, to start construction of the privately funded Horizon II research building.

Should that deadline not be met, “we’ll terminate the contract and find new people,” said Rick Kelly, USC’s vice president for business development and its chief financial officer.

Detroit’s Kale Roscoe and Philadelphia’s Robert Heath — who built the University of Kentucky’s research campus — are negotiating a buy-in to Davis’ Innovista contact.

Two taxpayer-funded buildings, called Horizon I and Discovery I, are about complete. But Davis, according to his contract with USC, should have started construction of Horizon II, the first of two private buildings, by the summer of 2006 and attracted tenants for it. But the contract carried no penalties against Davis for missing the deadline.

USC Board of Trustees chairman Herbert Adams said the new agreement “brings more financial strength” to the campus and “more defined dates” for the private partners.

Davis and the university have said that part of Innovista’s delay was driven by the loss of Intel as the campus’s first corporate tenant.

Davis spent an undisclosed amount of money on recruiting and designing space for a project with the computer giant that never came to fruition. The amount of Roscoe’s and Heath’s buy-in also was not disclosed.

Roscoe and Heath are credited with getting the University of Kentucky’s research campus moving in 2000 after it suffered similar doldrums to USC’s.

They built eight private buildings together at the Lexington campus, totaling about 1 million square feet, and attracted such tenants such as IBM, Hewlett Packard and Minolta.

At the time, John Parks, now executive director of Innovista, was guiding the UK campus.

Roscoe and Heath, interviewed by The State on Friday, said they have tenants waiting and can start building as soon as their agreement with Davis has been signed.

The signing could come as soon as Monday, said Ed Menzie, a private attorney helping USC forge the deal with the parties.

Neither Roscoe nor Heath would name the tenants.

“We have the Rolodex,” Roscoe said. “We have a model (in Lexington). We don’t have to re-invent the wheel. We’re going to put our money up, and no developer would unless they knew they could do the deal.”

Roscoe and Heath would assume the major responsibility for building the private Horizon II and Discovery II buildings, as well as managing the completion of the publicly funded Horizon I and Discovery I buildings, Roscoe said.

That would allow Davis, reportedly stretched thin with projects in North Carolina, to concentrate his efforts there, Roscoe said.

Davis could not immediately be reached for comment Friday.

Heath said the two new partners had made numerous visits to Columbia over the past year, and had repeatedly talked with Parks about getting involved.

“We are looking to diversify,” he said. “And the Carolinas have growth potential.”

Heath said the resurgence of downtown Columbia and Innovista’s proximity to the State House and USC’s main campus made developing there appealing.

“You wouldn’t see us out in the suburbs,” he said.

The two pledge to build and find tenants for the Horizon II and Discovery II buildings as drawn.

They also have plans for other private buildings with “single-use prospects.”

“Our plan is very aggressive,” Roscoe said.

Reach Wilkinson at (803) 771-8495.