Envisioning RTP for Future Generations

A guest blog post by Bob Geolas, the new President & CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation

The Research Triangle Park in 1959

Growing up in North Carolina, I have always believed that our state was special, capable of achieving “big things” and destined to play a leading role on the global stage. It does not matter whether you were born and raised in North Carolina or moved here from somewhere else, we all seem to share this confidence in our state.

To me, this comes from our great Research Triangle Park and its history. A bold, even risky, proposition fifty years ago, North Carolina announced its intentions to build a cutting-edge research park in a scrub-pine forest in a state that ranked 49 out of 50. Despite all the challenges, it worked.

Today, RTP stands as a global brand, an innovation hot spot and economic engine for our country. Now, it is time for us to think big again for RTP and North Carolina. Throughout this year, we will begin launching a new development plan.

A vision for the Research Triangle Park of the future

This plan will embrace four principles:

• RTP should be highly collaborative – a place that brings people together in new dense, urban centers with amenities and services.
• RTP should be authentic to North Carolina -  representing modern design and quality work and living spaces.
• RTP should be inspiring - representing the excitement of the future in science, technology, arts and humanities.
• RTP should be accessible – affordable to new technology companies and those looking to grow and expand.

This will be an exciting time for our great Research Triangle Park and I am honored to represent such a special place. I hope you will join us as we begin to launch our next fifty years and the continued promise that is our destiny.

The Research Triangle Park: Plans for the Future

As most people know from past blog posts here, here, and here, the Research Triangle Foundation has been working diligently to ensure RTP is as ideal a home for innovative R&D companies in the next fifty years as it was in its first fifty years.  WRAL interviewed our new CEO, Bob Geolas, yesterday regarding our plans for the future of the Research Triangle Park.

As Bob very succinctly summarized in the video, ”RTP has played a transformational role in North Carolina. It’s going to continue to do that, and we’re excited about its future.”

We look forward to sharing more about the changes envisioned in the coming months.

Year in Review: RTP Expansions

RTI's Building O9, opened in 2011

It’s certainly been an eventful year for the Research Triangle Park.  There’s a lot we could talk about: grant funding and capital infusion, conferences and events, a new CEO for RTP.  But one of the most exciting topics has been growth and expansion over the past year. In 2011, over 750,000 sq.ft. of  new office and industrial space was announced by various Park companies. Several of these projects are now well into the construction phase, or even complete. Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s been going on in 2011:

In September, Fidelity Investments purchased a group of four office buildings on NC Highway 54 formerly occupied by Nortel Networks. Fidelity is renovating the 676,000 sq.ft. of space, and will then consolidate its regional operations into one campus. This one purchase will go a long way towards reducing vacant space in RTP and rejuvenating its building stock.

Medicago held the ribbon cutting for its new $42 million, 97,000 sq.ft. facility in November. Breathing new life into North Carolina’s heritage, Medicago will produce influenza vaccines developed using tobacco leaves. Their cGMP facility has the capacity to produce more than 40 million doses of seasonal influenza vaccine or 120 million doses of pandemic influenza vaccine per year.

RTI International, our flagship research institute, held its grand opening for Building O9 in April. The office facility is a 127,000 sq.ft. companion to Building O8, completed several years earlier. Both facilities have been certified LEED Gold. RTI is now looking into opportunities to develop greenhouse space and a biocrude pilot production plant, either in RTP or nearby.

Syngenta Biotechnology is reinventing a site on Davis Drive that was home to one of the Research Triangle Park’s first buildings. Read more »

Behind the Scenes at RDU

The Raleigh-Durham International Airport has received a lot of acclaim for the recent and very impressive redevelopment of Terminal 2, as well as their 2011 ranking as the most efficient mid-sized airport in the nation. So it was certainly a treat when myself and a colleague were invited to take an in-depth tour of RDU’s operations.

In some ways, RDU operates like a small city. The have their own governing board, fire and rescue station, shuttle buses, fleet maintenance, landscaping crews, energy plant and more. Managed by the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority, RDU gets most of its revenue from parking. They aim to diversify their income sources in order to keep operation fees for airlines low. Other sources under consideration include selective timbering of the airport’s 5,000 acre property, and additional commercial development at Aviation Station (where the Sheetz gas station on Aviation Parkway is located).

Our tour started off  at the General Aviation Terminal, where Obama parks Air Force One when he comes to visit, and moved straight to the Emergency Services Building, which is responsible for firefighting, aircraft rescue, structural fire protection, and emergency medical services.

View of Terminal 2 from RDU's Control Tower

The highlight of the tour was the opportunity to climb the air traffic control tower, where the controllers direct planes as they take off and land. The name of the game for these employees is efficiency combined with a very important focus on safety. With 372 daily arrivals and departures and 9.1 million passengers flowing through the airport on an annual basis, it is very important to airport administrators that flights take off on time. Our tour guides went into great detail about the specific flight paths that are permitted to and from RDU, the required clearance between planes, and the strategies for handling severe weather situations. Each member of the control tower team has a specific role that keeps things running smoothly. Read more »

Medicago opens plant-based vaccine facility in RTP

Medicago's greenhouse

A biotech company that uses tobacco leaves to produce flu vaccines, Medicago is the perfect fit for the Research Triangle Park.  On Monday, just over one year after the ground breaking on the site, Medicago held a ribbon cutting ceremony at their $24 million, 97,000 square foot plant-based vaccine facility with a fully automated greenhouse. The state of-the-art plant has the capacity to produce 120 million doses of pandemic influenza vaccine.

Medicago Ribbon Cutting

During the ceremony, Medicago’s CEO, Andy Sheldon, said that the excellent workforce, quality of life, and of course famous North Carolina BBQ were the main reasons that Medicago decided to locate their new greenhouse in RTP.  Medicago, a Canadian company, located to RTP and proceeded to hire 55+ employees (with more to come), almost all from North Carolina.  Talk about a testament for the trained workforce that the Research Triangle prides itself on. 

At the grand opening ceremony, Governor Beverly Perdue, Senator Richard Burr and Congressman David Price were all on hand to give Medicago a warm welcome to the Research Triangle Park and the state of North Carolina. (literally – it was a beautiful 70 degree day in RTP as opposed to 4 inches of snow on the ground at Medicago’s Canadian headquarters). During Governor Perdue’s remarks she said, “When I grew up, tobacco was something you smoked or chewed or dipped.  Who would have thought it would have been used in 21st century vaccines and medical products…. Today, tobacco is something we use to cure disease, not something you smoke or chew necessarily. We transformed ourselves.” (See below for a clip of Governor Perdue’s comments at the ceremony).

We are proud to have Medicago in the Research Triangle Park.  This is the exact type of company that we aim to attract and grow and we know that their investment in this state will continue to provide the high quality jobs that fuel economic growth for the Triangle Region - the driving force behind the founding of RTP. 

The media throughout the state & Triangle Region also thrilled to welcome Medicago to the area as well, judging on the media coverage surround the event:

Biotechnology Company Locates U.S. Division in North Carolina (Thrive NC)

Officials Tout Medicago’s Tobacco-To-Vaccine Plant (NC Biotechnology Center)

Medicago USA opens new RTP facility (The Herald-Sun)

Medicago’s RTP vaccine facility opens to address pandemics (MedCity News)

Conditions are ripe in RTP for AG-biotech

Perhaps it’s my addiction to twitter. Or the app I downloaded last year that sends alerts for dangerous weather events both locally and globally. But it has just felt of late a little bit like the sky was falling. Or that I should be building an ark, stocking up on water. Something.

From the recent devastating floods impacting the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri River Valleys, to the earthquakes and subsequent tsunamis in Japan, to high temperatures that are drying up already dry land causing unprecedented drought, these weather events have ruined crops, devastated farmers and have spread famine to already poor parts of the world.

A recent tweet raised to my attention for more serious consideration: “Drought has caused a children’s famine. Creates lost generation.”

Which led me to the questions: How much arable land is available on earth? And can we feed the world’s population?

Agricultural innovation holds a key solution.

Read more »

Investing in Opportunity

“Where are the jobs?”

Twenty-three percent, according to Twitter’s Topic Tracker, of the possible questions for President Obama, focused on jobs during his first ever Twitter town hall this past week.

With the next job report out July 8, even Warren Buffett is optimistic on jobs.  So optimistic, that he placed a little wager (one dollar, to be exact) that the U.S. unemployment rate – now at 9.1% – will dip well below 8% by November next year. [Update: June jobs report out. Just up 18,000]

But by 2020, the U.S. will need to create 20 million jobs to recover from the 7 million lost in the Great Recession and 13 million needed for the country’s growing population.

So, what’s with the downer post?

Quite the opposite actually. Despite the economic challenges, our region’s historically strong technology and innovation performance places us in a competitive position as demand for science and technology-driven growth builds.

Governor Perdue, Lou Tapper - Longistics, Cris Mulder - RTP, Secretary of Commerce Crisco

I’ve had the opportunity in the last few months to travel with Governor Perdue and Secretary of Commerce Crisco as they courted businesses from outside states, hosted the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and most recently in promoting the region at the BIO International Conference in Washington D.C.  And the message each time is abundantly clear from the Governor:  “I will take any meeting or make any call to bring new businesses or keep existing companies here.”

But actions speak louder than words. The governor has made calls for rethinking the state’s business tax structure, hoping to cut tax rates on small business and corporations in order to remain regionally competitive and spur new job growth. The governor also supported continued and increased state investments in business incentives and tax credit programs designed to support job growth. And, North Carolina also has a network of over 25 core public and private research laboratories supporting research in biotechnology and life sciences. And as the Governor says, it’s our strong regional collaboration that attracts businesses to look at the entire package.

Public-private partnerships are key.

Read more »

Syngenta’s Groundbreaking Impact

Dawn McNamara breaks ground on Syngenta's new R&D complex

9 billion people.

That’s the number fueling Syngenta Biotechnology’s passion and commitment. By the year 2050, its projected that global population will increase to more than 9 billion people from about 6.5 billion today.  That’s a lot of mouths to feed.

“The significance of this event is worldwide, because it will help raise the living standard for the 35 percent of the world population that makes it living from agriculture,” exclaimed Congressman Price on the $70 million expansion of Syngenta’s operations in the Research Triangle Park.

Read more »

AG-Tech Landscape Grows in RTP

Agriculture is big business in North Carolina, bringing in $70.1 billion to the state annually – that’s 18% of N.C.’s income.  More than 4,000 North Carolinians work in over 70 ag-tech companies, which include RTP-based BASF Group, Bayer CropScience, Monsanto Company, and Syngenta. And soon, the landscape will grow with the exciting announcements made this week!

With the N.C. Biotechnology Center as its backdrop, a non-profit organization working to strengthen biotech initiatives in the state, two major announcements were made:

• Governor Perdue Announces $13.5M Greenhouse Incubator – Alexandria Ag-Tech Center
• Syngenta announces $71 million expansion in RTP

Alexandria AG-Tech Center

Announced Tuesday, the Alexandria AG-Tech Center is a $13.5 million, 50,000-square-foot agricultural research center near the Research Triangle Park that would include 18,000 square feet of greenhouse space.

The center will provide individual greenhouse modules and support areas along with shared amenities, according to Alexandria. Each greenhouse will have separate environmental controls, planting and support spaces. Completion is expected Summer 2012. Read more »

Entrepreneurs. Electronics. Elevators. Expansions. Oh my.

Phew! It’s Friday. And what a week! A week filled with excitement and energy in and around the RTP and the Triangle. Bear with me as I recap… I promise, I have an important point.

• Entrepreneurs. As many of you know, we started the week with a bang as The Blackstone Charitable Foundation committed $3.6 million in 2011 to support a dense network of entrepreneurial support in this region.

• Electronics. The RTP community through wind rain and sun came out in force to recycle old electronics and donate reusable computers to Kramden Institute, Inc., a 501(c)(3)not-for-profit charitable institution to refurbish. Kramden then empowers hardworking, less-advantaged students in the community by giving them home computers, allowing them to bridge the digital divide and advance their achievement.

• Elevators. Elevator pitches that is – during a 2-minute lightening round from some of the most promising start-ups and some serial entrepreneurs at the CED Venture Conference. First, can I just say the coffee at the beautiful and expansive Raleigh Convention Center rocks! And second, we’ve got some serious rock-stars in this area. Michael Capps at Epic Games. You crushed it. Ben Weinberger at Digitalsmiths. Just to name a few.

• Expansions. I told you. It was a busy week! RTI International held a grand opening event for their gorgeous, new 127,000 square-foot LEED Silver Building (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) on its main campus in the Park. And we celebrated with nearly 300 Biogen Idec employees and partners from the RTP and from around the region and broke ground for an 180,000-square-foot LEED office building, expanding their presence in the Park. Read more »