Utah State University Innovation Campus Completes Master Plan

Utah State University Innovation Campus Completes Master Plan

Finishing touches are being put on the master plan for the Innovation Campus, Utah State University's research park.

"The Utah State University Innovation Campus will be a place where people and ideas come together," said Kay Jeppesen, associate vice president for research at Utah State.

The master plan, which will guide growth of the Innovation Campus over the next 40 years, will feature improvements that include innovative buildings, technological infrastructure and native landscaping that will attempt to create a major economic center in northern Utah while maintaining a high quality of life for Cache Valley residents.

"Our goal is to make everything about the campus innovative," said Teresa McKnight, Innovation Campus manager. "We want to be a model for research parks across the nation, creating an atmosphere where buildings are innovative, not only in architectural design but energy efficiency as well; where the site of the campus is resourcefully developed; where we are conservative in the way we landscape, using native plants that don’t require a lot of water. When you look at all aspects of innovation, we want to be self-sufficient in every area possible."

In its completed state, the Innovation Campus will expand from 38 acres to more than 150 acres, with buildings arranged into small blocks, each with a parking lot and a "garden oasis." Parts of the Innovation Campus will extend from 1400 North to 1800 North and from 400 East to 1200 East.

Major landmarks of the campus will include the Innovation Green, a large grassy area about one-third the size of the Quad on Utah State’s main campus; Foundation Green, which will be an expansion of the pond and surrounding green areas at the current center of the Innovation Campus; University Square, which will be a designated commercial area for a café and a copy center, that will feature a small version of Old Main's clock tower; and the Grand East/West Avenue, a tree-lined street with a canal and walking paths that will connect the expanded area to the existing Innovation Campus, creating one contiguous campus.

The Innovation Campus will connect with Utah State's main campus both geographically and ideologically.

"Research space at Utah State University will increase ten-fold as a result of the Innovation Campus expansion," said Jeppesen. "Right now, the university only has approximately 400,000 square feet of designated research facilities, but when the Innovation Campus is completed, we’ll have more than four million."

The master plan was created by the planning and urban design firm Sasaki Associates, Inc., based in Boston. Sasaki has created plans for universities, resorts and plazas all over the world, including Disneyland Paris, the San Francisco Presidio, 2008 Beijing Olympic Green, UC Berkeley and Princeton University.

Sasaki, in cooperation with Utah State University, has focused on four major areas during the planning process: buildings, water, open space and foliage.

Buildings

The buildings will range in height from one to four stories. The plan is designed to minimize the impact on nearby residents, so taller buildings will be located in the center of campus with single-story buildings at the edge.

New buildings will be energy efficient and, over time, will be heated by one central heating plant. Exterior lighting will use 50 percent less energy than normal fixtures and will be designed to keep parking and street lighting to a minimum.

Water

A canal will run the length of the main avenue, and the current pond will be expanded in size. Storm water runoff from parking lots will be collected into underground storage pipes to supply the pond and canal with water and to water the oasis and trees, so each block is water efficient and self-sustaining.

Open Space

Each small block of buildings will have its own courtyard garden where people can eat lunch or relax. The quad, the Foundation Green and the Union Square will also add to the open space of the campus. Also, natural areas and parks will border the Innovation Campus to provide a buffer zone between the campus and surrounding neighborhoods.

"We wanted to create a collaborative environment where people can come out of their offices and meet other colleagues, and where researchers can collaborate and share ideas with each other," said McKnight.

"The landscape at the Innovation Campus will be an inspiration for walkers," said Jeppesen.

In order to create space for these green areas, the Innovation Campus may consider parking terraces to consolidate parking.

Foliage

Although the landscape will be lush, it will also be water efficient, featuring indigenous flowers, plants and trees, such as white mulberry and big tooth maple trees, which grow quickly and use less water than most other trees.

"Utah's native plants and flowers are very beautiful but are seldom used in everyday landscaping," said McKnight. "Not only do we plan to make use of these plants, but we also want to create a learning experience and inspire others to do the same. Pedestrian walkways will wind through the campus, and small markers will detail the landscape."

Although big plans are in the works for the Innovation Campus, it won't reach its full build-out for 40 years. Currently in phase one, the Innovation Campus will build two new buildings; one on the east side of 600 East, the USU Research Foundation Administration Building and one on the west side of 600 East, the USU Research Foundation Molecular Building.

During phase two, which will begin in 2006 and last about a decade, the main avenue will be constructed, as will the central heating plant. The pond will also be expanded.

Phases three and four, which will each last approximately ten years, will include development along the avenue and around the Innovation Quad. The new buildings will be high quality, 50-year life buildings, while many of the existing, less expensive buildings will be retained for use as incubators for start-up companies as well as spin-off companies from Utah State research.

The Innovation Campus will reach its full build-out in about 40 years, but it is almost certain the plan will be changed and modified over time. The master plan is a "living plan," and changes will continue to be made in order to help it best fit the surrounding communities, said McKnight.

"There are only a few times when you get the chance to be involved with something that is so major and so positive," said Brent Miller, vice president for research at Utah State. "This is one of those rare opportunities."

"The Innovation Campus will do the same thing for Cache Valley that Utah State University has done for Cache Valley," said Paul Rasmussen, director of the Agricultural Experiment Station.

Economic Benefits

Jeppesen said the Innovation Campus will have a major economic impact on Cache Valley. "Just the property taxes, payroll taxes and employment opportunities alone will be a major benefit to the area," he said.

Currently, Utah State University is the largest employer in Cache County, employing approximately four thousand people. Jeppesen said that by full-build out, the Innovation Campus will employ seven to ten thousand more in high-paying research and technology jobs.

University Benefits

University incubator spin-offs and anchor tenants will interact with one another and make contributions to science, research and technology, said Jeppesen.

"The high-paying jobs will create valuable opportunities for Utah State graduates, rather than requiring us to export them elsewhere."

Community Benefits

"The Innovation Campus will be a great asset to the community," said Jeppesen. "It will have a campus feel and a rural feel as well. We are preserving the historical small grains breeding research plots of planted wheat and research areas that have existed for more than 100 years."

The Innovation Campus has been working with the Utah Business Economic Development Group, Cache Valley Initiative, Cache Chamber of Commerce, the City of Logan, the City of North Logan, the Real Estate Board, developers and citizen groups while formulating the master plan, and these relationships will continue.

Land owned by the university is exempt from zoning laws, but Jeppesen requested permission from the city council to change the zoning from agricultural to M2 anyway.

"Throughout the process, we have been asking for community input, and we have made several modifications to the master plan based on the input of citizens," said McKnight. "We take this process very seriously."

"If Utah State University did not own the land, and the Innovation Campus could not expand, this land would almost certainly be developed into commercial mini malls and high density housing," said Miller. "The Innovation Campus will be a great benefit for Cache Valley residents, as well as for Utah State."

"The Innovation Campus will create a higher standard of living for Cache Valley residents," said Jeppesen. "It will have a significant and positive impact on everyone."

Contact: Teresa McKnight, (435) 797-9606, mcknight@cc.usu.edu
Writer: Anna Brunson (435) 881-1323, annab@cc.usu.edu