The enormity of the challenge to redevelop the South Charleston Technology Park became apparent Thursday during the first meeting of the committee that is guiding the park's future.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The enormity of the challenge to redevelop the South Charleston Technology Park became apparent Thursday during the first meeting of the committee that is guiding the park's future.
As state Higher Education Chancellor Brian Noland said, "There are a large number of moving parts." What an understatement. A presentation by consultant Mitch Horowitz of the Battelle Memorial Institute made that clear.
Dow's gift to the state includes three buildings, several pilot plants and 258 acres. But the redevelopment involves far more. About 485 people already work at the park; several educational institutions and the state Department of Agriculture have made commitments to locate facilities in the park; and interim administrators are apparently showing the property to prospects on an almost daily basis.
Add the fact that the state is spending a $10 million credit from Dow to pay the park's operating expenses -- a "credit card" that's due to expire Dec. 15 -- and you get an idea of the complexity and deadline pressure.
Horowitz said the Battelle team will assess the moving parts, put them in a state and regional context, develop a long-range vision for what the park can become, and deliver a well-defined plan in October.
I left the meeting thankful that Battelle and its partner, CH2M Hill, have lots of experience in these matters. It also was heartening that the meeting was open to the public.
The long-range vision for the park and how well it can be adhered to will be critical. Here's hoping the brainy people working on this can devise a management structure that will be responsive to opportunities to create jobs but resistant to easy solutions like job poaching.
The city of Charleston's leaders, who worry about job poaching, don't have a representative on the Transition Steering Committee and didn't attend Thursday's meeting. Which raises the question: How do you get everyone onboard? That will require park advocates to show, over and over, how the park's redevelopment is a benefit that does not create losers.
Over the years, the state's economic development focus has been cyclical. Each cycle starts with a plan to target a few specific industries. Then an unexpected opportunity crops up and that industry is added to the list of targets. Before long the state is chasing everything that moves. It soon becomes apparent that West Virginia has limited resources and can't chase everything. The list of targets is whittled down and the cycle begins anew.
Will the tech park avoid this cycle or will it eventually be filled with a hodgepodge of businesses, agencies and institutions lured by tax incentives and political clout? We'll see. It is going to take the sustained effort of a lot of smart people to get it right.
As Chancellor Noland said, "This truly is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the state and the Kanawha Valley."
Reach George Hohmann at busin...@dailymail.com or 304-348-4836.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The enormity of the challenge to redevelop the South Charleston Technology Park became apparent Thursday during the first meeting of the committee that is guiding the park's future.
As state Higher Education Chancellor Brian Noland said, "There are a large number of moving parts." What an understatement. A presentation by consultant Mitch Horowitz of the Battelle Memorial Institute made that clear.
Dow's gift to the state includes three buildings, several pilot plants and 258 acres. But the redevelopment involves far more. About 485 people already work at the park; several educational institutions and the state Department of Agriculture have made commitments to locate facilities in the park; and interim administrators are apparently showing the property to prospects on an almost daily basis.
Add the fact that the state is spending a $10 million credit from Dow to pay the park's operating expenses -- a "credit card" that's due to expire Dec. 15 -- and you get an idea of the complexity and deadline pressure.
Horowitz said the Battelle team will assess the moving parts, put them in a state and regional context, develop a long-range vision for what the park can become, and deliver a well-defined plan in October.
I left the meeting thankful that Battelle and its partner, CH2M Hill, have lots of experience in these matters. It also was heartening that the meeting was open to the public.
The long-range vision for the park and how well it can be adhered to will be critical. Here's hoping the brainy people working on this can devise a management structure that will be responsive to opportunities to create jobs but resistant to easy solutions like job poaching.
The city of Charleston's leaders, who worry about job poaching, don't have a representative on the Transition Steering Committee and didn't attend Thursday's meeting. Which raises the question: How do you get everyone onboard? That will require park advocates to show, over and over, how the park's redevelopment is a benefit that does not create losers.
Over the years, the state's economic development focus has been cyclical. Each cycle starts with a plan to target a few specific industries. Then an unexpected opportunity crops up and that industry is added to the list of targets. Before long the state is chasing everything that moves. It soon becomes apparent that West Virginia has limited resources and can't chase everything. The list of targets is whittled down and the cycle begins anew.
Will the tech park avoid this cycle or will it eventually be filled with a hodgepodge of businesses, agencies and institutions lured by tax incentives and political clout? We'll see. It is going to take the sustained effort of a lot of smart people to get it right.
As Chancellor Noland said, "This truly is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the state and the Kanawha Valley."
Reach George Hohmann at busin...@dailymail.com or 304-348-4836.
