$45 Million Discovery Ridge Research Park Expansion Gets Go-Ahead

A new three-stage $45 million construction project at the Discovery Ridge Research Park in Columbia, Missouri, is set to break ground by the beginning of next year, says CarrBaierCrandall Real Estate Group’s Rick Baier.

The firm from Kansas City has been selected from amongst a group of bidders, with the terms of the agreement being approved by the University of Missouri Board of Curators. The company will be charged with designing, constructing and marketing the 80,000 Sq. feet expansion.

 

The first phase of the project is going to run up an estimated bill of around $15 million, said Baier. Once this first project has been completed, the company will be able to move on to developing the next two phases.

“The design of the site layout we’ve gone for incorporated three buildings currently, covering a total 225,000 sq. feet, with the expected cost to be somewhere around the $45 million mark.

The University of Missouri System, which owns the Discovery Ridge Research Park, hopes it will be able to recoup much of the debts it incurred from the cost of developing the land of the research park, through renting the ground where the new building will stand, said Greg Williams, the director of research parks at UM.

The biggest hope though, is that high-tech businesses will show some interest in the new development, collaborating with the university development and research faculties for mutual benefit.

“Our market is going to be research-oriented, hi-tech, private sector companies, together with researchers in universities who are ready to market a product,” said Williams.

“These restrictions are designed to guarantee the development’s integrity; therefore our audience must be people who have already established a close relationship with UM.”

Several companies have already show interest in the development, but as yet it remains unsure how many will eventually set up shop in the mixed-use office and lab facility.

Developers CarrBaierCrandall will not break ground until a minimum of 60% of the space has been leased.

 

Williams told media that the reason CBC was chosen was because they had a hugely succesfull reputation for their work on life sciences real estate projects in the past, and also because it enjoyed the huge support of its partner, CB Richard Ellis.

“It’s an excellent fit for this job,” said Williams. “CBC really know their way around a project of this size.”

The designs rendered by CBC’s architect were also highly impressive, says Williams. “We hope that this new property will set a new standard for commercial buildings in Missouri,” he added.