GOV. KAINE TO OPEN INNOVATION RESEARCH PARK @ ODU MAY 16

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and President Roseann Runte will officially launch Innovation Research Park @ ODU, an $80 million economic development project, with the opening celebration for the park's first building at 41st Street and Monarch Way Wednesday, May 16.

The celebration will begin at 4:30 p.m. with a formal program, followed by tours and demonstrations throughout the building.  Norfolk City Councilman Barclay Winn and Wexford Equities President James R. Berens will join Kaine and Runte for the opening ceremony.

Located in the 75-acre, mixed-use University Village, Innovation Research Park @ ODU is a unique public-private partnership designed to merge university intellectual capital, faculty and students with private-sector companies to pursue research, technology development and business-creation opportunities.  With easy access to Old Dominion faculty and students, plus a full complement of business, cultural and social amenities nearby, Innovation Research Park @ ODU provides a compelling location for established and emerging high-tech companies.

Designed by UJNM architects of Philadelphia, the park's first building, 4111 Monarch Way, is a 100,000-square-foot, five-story Class "A" office/lab building with brick-and-glass frame and a precast façade.  Wexford Equities, a national real-estate investment firm headquartered in Towson, Md., is the project owner-developer for the building and GVA Advantis is the exclusive leasing agent and property manager. 

Old Dominion offices occupy about 60 percent of the building, including the Office of Research, Research Foundation, Lean Manufacturer Institute, Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Computational Intelligence and Machine Vision Laboratory, Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography, Center for Advanced Ship Repair and Maintenance, National Center for System of Systems Engineering, Virginia Applied Technology and Professional Development Center, and Office of Spatial and Cartographic Information.