If you’ve driven by Gateway University Research Park’s South Campus on Gate City Boulevard recently, you’ve probably noticed the increase in construction equipment at the 75-acre campus, which could see the shell of the $12 million building going up soon. John Merrill, executive director of Gateway University Research Park, told Triad Business Journal the construction crew has been prepping the land since late September and, weather permitting, could have the concrete foundation paved within the next few weeks. Once the concrete has dried, the next step is bringing in the pre-cast insulated concrete panels, which will make up the exterior shell of the building, Merrill said. Many of the panels have already been manufactured and are being stored in a south Charlotte warehouse. Samet Corporation, which has been contracted for the project, already has a crane in place for when the time comes to begin putting panels in the ground, Merrill said. “We’ll make very quick progress once the slab is paved,” Merrill said. According to the project’s building permit, $8.75 million is going into the two-story, 72,172-square-foot building. Merrill said the $8.75 million does not include the cost to outfit the 25,000-square-foot speculative portion of the building. Only sections of the building with secured tenants will be outfitted for the time being, he said. High Point-based injection molding company Core Technology Molding Corp. will be the building’s anchor tenant, occupying over 30,000 square feet of the building. Merrill said another tenant has also decided to lease space in the building, but could not disclose the name of the company. The unnamed company is based in Greensboro, Merrill said, and is moving its R&D division to a 2,000-square-foot lab space in the new building as the company expands its manufacturing operations. Merrill said he expects to have tenants moved into a completed building by mid-September of this year. The new facility will join a 63,000-square-foot building anchored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a 105,000-square-foot building occupied by the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoegineering on Gateway’s south campus. The campus has infrastructure in place to accommodate eight total buildings, totaling about 400,000 square feet. Written by: Luke Bollinger Reporter Triad Business Journal |