Technology Enterprise Park (TEP)

Opportunities:

Though Georgia Tech has one of the largest research budgets in the country, the institution did not have a university related research park specifically programmed to enhance the commercialization of the research that takes place on the campus currently.  Also, Georgia Tech wanted to avoid having any debt related to this specific university related research park on its books.

Process: 

Through a series of unique activities, TUFF was able to help Georgia Tech achieve the 2 main goals of this project – development of a research park with little financial impact on the institution.  TUFF worked with an 501c3 organization affiliated with Georgia Tech to accomplish the development of the park but TUFF itself also used its resources to 1) develop an investment grade credit rating and 2) develop the park with full recourse to TUFF rather than Georgia Tech or its affiliate and thereby removing the park from the “credit” of the institution.  Therefore, the debt rating and debt capacity of Georgia Tech is unchanged.

This project required TUFF to use all of its financial and intellectual resources.  TUFF has played the role of banker, equity provider, owner, developer and promoter using all of the skills discussed in pages of “what we do”.

Details:

TEP is a development of TUFF supported by Georgia Tech which will contain approximately 600,000 square feet of life science research facilities in 5 different research facilities.  The project is designed both to alleviate the lack of wet lab facilities in the City of Atlanta and the State of Georgia and to foster the establishment of a cluster community of wet lab users and research scientists.

Unlike any other facilities in the Southeast, the TEP buildings are specifically designed with mechanical, electrical, plumbing and security systems as well as loading dock and service areas tailored for the particular needs of multiple, transient wet lab users.  Moreover, because each square foot of the TEP Building is designed to accommodate wet lab, dry lab, demonstration or office use, users of TEP can easily meet future expansions/reconfiguration requirements.

Georgia Tech had a vision for this project, but needed TUFF to quickly make funds available to acquire the land and get the project underway.  Through TUFF’s agility and commitment, the initial building was 50% complete before permanent financing could be put in place, thus saving both months in getting to market and avoiding escalating costs due to lengthy delays.

The first TEP building (pictured above at various stages of completion) contains 126,000 rentable square feet in five stories and is scheduled to be completed in March of 2007.  The second TEP building and a 600-space parking structure are currently in the schematic design phase.