Boise State proposes research park on campus

Economic developers say the Treasure Valley could capitalize on Boise State University's growing stature as a regional research school to bring new businesses into a park with good-paying jobs.

Bob Kustra, BSU president, called on business and community leaders Tuesday to form a partnership to develop the park, saying the school would contribute the land. He spoke to about 900 business people at the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce's annual Economic Outlook Forum.

Kustra's proposal has few specifics, such as the cost of developing the park, who would pay for a building, or where it would be located, although he expects it to be on campus.

Local business leaders see advantages in marrying the school's research work in areas like engineering with businesses.

"What we are fast learning is growth is going to have to come internally," not from luring the next big employer to the Treasure Valley, said Mark Rivers, who developed BoDo and helped launch the WaterCooler business incubator in Downtown Boise.

Research parks are becoming familiar scenes on campuses in the United States and Canada, where there are about 170 such centers, said Eileen Walker, chief executive of the Association of University Research Parks.

The parks typically bring faculty researchers and private workers together, working side-by-side, learning from each other's research and helping start-up companies apply research to their products, Walker said.

"There has been considerable development and expansion of research parks by medium-size and large state colleges in the last decade," said Dan Hurley, director of state relations and policy analysis for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Recessions sometimes encourage universities to start research parks and expand their revenue bases and collaborations, he said.

BSU's push comes as the university is breaking records in research dollars flowing into the university, a sign that that school's research work is gaining recognition, Kustra said. BSU raised a record $37 million in research dollars last school year.

A team looking at BSU accreditation recently praised the university for sticking to a strategic plan that has resulted in the growth of Boise State as a research university.

The university's research strengths include novel materials, sensor development, nanoelectronics, geochemistry and geophysics, Kustra said - areas where the university plans to focus its quest to expand research.

"For Boise State, it's a matter of identifying our research expertise and sticking to it," he said.

Paying for a park could require some creativity, said Paul Hiller, executive director of the Boise Valley Economic Partnership.

Hiller said one option is to find a developer willing to construct a building and then operate it, making money from leases and sparing the university or taxpayers out-of-pocket costs.

The research park would be separate from a building and land the Boise State University Foundation bought last year on ParkCenter Boulevard for a research center.

For one thing, Kustra said, that building wouldn't be equipped with sophisticated wet labs that would be needed in the research park. Budget cuts have so far kept the university from occupying the building, he said.

Bill Roberts: 377-6408