But the scope of the $130 million project remains uncertain, thanks to escalating costs associated with construction and infrastructure development, according to discussions at the monthly meeting of the Utah Science, Research and Technology (USTAR) initiative's governing authority.
A total of $200 million has been allocated for USTAR facilities at the U. and Utah State University, with financing coming from the following sources: $50 million from the state's general fund; $110 million in bonds; and $40 million from the universities. The U.'s share is $30 million. USU has met its $10 million match by donating the 620 Building at its research park, formerly occupied by the Space Dynamics Laboratory. In the summer of 2005, when USTAR was first unveiled to the Legislature, the idea was to build a 260,000-square-foot facility on or near the U. campus, but rising costs have shrunk the size to 185,000 square feet, said USTAR executive director Edward "Ted" McAleer.
At Thursday's USTAR authority meeting, board members discussed potential sites other than the golf course, which is strategically located between the U. Health Sciences Complex and the College of Engineering. These alternative locations included downtown Salt Lake City, Research Park and Midvale, where it was thought the USTAR facility could anchor a future mid-county U. campus.
"Maybe we've got to consider other sites," McAleer told the board. "I'd like to say to the taxpayers of Utah that we have investigated every option to find the best value."
But some board members dismissed off-campus options because they would undermine the Legislature's intent in authorizing USTAR, which was to take advantage of the interdisciplinary synergy available in an academic setting. Also, the enabling legislation requires the facility to occupy land donated by the U.
"Part of the magic of USTAR is not just the people we bring in, but it's the work they do with the faculty we already have. To achieve the multiplier effect . . . you need that proximity. If you move them away, you lose all that leverage," Jack Brittain, the dean of the U.'s David Eccles School of Business, said in an interview.
A key issue in the cost debate was the high price of developing infrastructure at a "greenfield" site, such as the U.'s nine-hole golf course. That cost has been pegged at $38 million, an investment needed to install utility lines, roads and sidewalks, upgrade and expand the U.'s electrical substation, and build chilling and heating plants. This investment, however, would support three other large-scale projects for the golf course envisioned in the U.'s master planning process.
A top U. financial planner dismissed the notion that infrastructure costs are to blame for the project's spiralling price tag. The $13.5 million set aside for infrastructure should meet the USTAR's share, said James Bardsley, a health sciences vice president who is serving as project manager. Rather, the soaring costs of construction in general are driving up the cost and the building's nanofabrication facility is particularly expensive, according to Bardsley. Employing state-of-the-art vibration-free clean-room technology, the "nanofab" will cost $1,100 per square foot, more than double the per-square-foot cost for the rest of the building.
"The nanofab represents 10 percent of the space, but 21 percent of the cost," Bardsley said.
Meanwhile, USTAR is temporarily housed in a Research Park building formerly owned by NPS Pharmaceuticals, which recently vacated the building when it consolidated its operations in New Jersey. The U. bought the building, made up of 90,000 square feet on three floors, for $21 million in July. The building is undergoing a $9 million remodel to convert the second-floor offices into labs, Brittain said.
So far, USTAR has hired 12 faculty and ultimately 80 will by toiling at the U., developing such cutting-edge technologies as carbon sequestration, nanotechnology, biofuels, as well as pursuing biomedical research.
"We're planning to hire another dozen faculty and we have no where to put them," Brittain said.
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* BRIAN MAFFLYcan be reached at 801-257-8605 or bmaffly@sltrib.com.
