By AZBEX Staff for Arizona Builder’s Exchange
Tech Parks Arizona, on behalf of the University of Arizona and Campus Research Corporation, has announced the development partners selected for new projects at the UA Tech Park at The Bridges and the UA Tech Park at Rita Road in Tucson.
Technology Precinct in the UA Tech Park at The Bridges
The Boyer Company has been selected as the development partner to design, develop and finance the Technology Precinct in the UA Tech Park at The Bridges. The Technology Precinct encompasses 20 acres of land in the larger 65-acre UA Tech Park at The Bridges. It is being developed as a master-planned area that is integrated physically and functionally into the larger UA Tech Park at The Bridges.
The Innovation and Technology Complex at the UA Tech Park at The Bridges will be the first vertical development in the Technology Precinct. ITC will include two buildings that provide a total of 300KSF of office and lab space. “ITC will serve as an ideal location for technology-oriented businesses and organizations and it will also serve as the Technology Commercialization Hub of the University of Arizona,” according to the announcement.
Ultimate plans for The Technology Precinct will include a full service hotel and conference center, a parking structure and 400KSF of additional office and lab space. There also will be an outdoor plaza and public spaces for use by both employees and the general public. The vision for UA Tech Park at The Bridges is to create an “Innovation District” in central Tucson.
The Boyer Company currently owns and manages a portfolio of more than 15MSF of commercial space. Currently, the company has more than $500M of projects in various stages of development.
“The Tech Park at The Bridges presents a unique opportunity for our company to work closely with the UA and the Tucson community,” said Matt Jensen, a Partner with The Boyer Company. “The Bridges provides growing and expanding companies with an easily accessible location, access to existing infrastructure and a location that offers a growing list of amenities. We look forward to working closely with Tech Parks Arizona as we plan, market and develop the site.”
“With the U of A announcement and the approval for the new GEICO regional office, this will provide needed jobs to young people. This is changing a long 13 years of desert to opportunity for young people, first time home owners and our senior citizens. I am glad we got to the finish line, and now it is time for them to get going for the young people,” stated Willie Blake, President of the Western Hills II Neighborhood Association.
The Village at the UA Tech Park at Rita Road
The Village will be developed at the west end of the UA Tech Park on a 175-acre site near Kolb Road and Science Park Drive. The new development will be integrated into the larger Tech Park and will address urban design, scale and connectivity factors such as walking, biking and driving to related community activities, as well as future development planned areas of the Tech Park.
Bourn Companies, LLC has been selected to lead the development of The Village at the UA Tech Park at Rita Road. The Village is a mixed-use development that will include retail, commercial, residential and hotel, according to the announcement.
Bourn Companies is a development firm primarily focused on integrative, mixed-use projects. It has completed more than 40 projects totaling approximately $1B and is currently in various stages of design and development on approximately $1B more, much of it in Tucson, the announcement states.
The UA Tech Park at Rita Road is in one of the fastest growing regions in Tucson and Pima County. It is also 15 minutes from downtown and has convenient access to airport and the surrounding corporate district. “The UA Tech Park is uniquely positioned to create an exceptional environment because it is one the region’s major employment centers with over 40 businesses employing 6,000-plus employees,” according to the announcement.
In addition to the benefit of location, the development’s planned amenities and mixed-use offerings are intended to appeal to the area’s growing population of Millennial workers, according to a report in the Arizona Daily Star. The article noted an increasing percentage of the Tech Park’s more than 6,000 employees are Millennials and quoted Bruce Wright, UA assistant VP of Tech Parks Arizona, who pointed out that, as a demographic, Millennials are drawn to interactive public spaces and a live/work/play environment.
“The millennials are a really different kind of employee than baby boomers or Gen X,” Wright said. “They want their work site to be more exciting.”
“Through our development process, which is part market research and assessment and part planning and design, we will crystalize our vision for this dynamic, integrated, large-scale community – a future-focused destination befitting a world-class research and innovation district like UA Tech Park,” said Bourn Companies founder and CEO, Don Bourn in the announcement.
The Daily Star article also quoted Bourn as saying, “We’re not looking at the next five years; we’re looking at the next 25 or 30 years. All great cities have dense nodes of activity that bring energy and excitement, and we really believe that for the southeastern part of Tucson, this can become that node, if not become the No. 1 node for research and development.”
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