The Daily Gleaner

Fredericton, N.B

Friday February 6, 2009 

IT park to grow 

City | Knowledge Park wants to develop 14 more buildings 

By Shawn Berry 

Knowledge park officials have unveiled an ambitious plan to develop more office space to meet the future needs of the city’s burgeoning technology industries.  The plan calls for the development of 14 additional buildings to serve as a base for clusters of companies in information technology, biotechnology, forestry, health care and advanced learning sectors.  It’s a response to a growing need for space among those companies. 

Conceptual drawings call for the addition of the buildings on land between Knowledge Park Drive and the Hugh John Flemming Forestry Complex.  The pace of development will depend on demand, but proponents are expecting things to take off.  “It’s the right time and the right place for this kind of approach,” said Greg Kealey, president of Knowledge Park’s board of directors. He’s also provost and vice-president of research at the University of New Brunswick. “Fredericton is home to a uniquely robust and mature technology sector,” he said. 

Construction of the first of those buildings could be announced in six to eight weeks. 

The park, which is owned by Enterprise Fredericton, has three buildings.  They were opened in 1999, 2001 and 2003, respectively. 

New space for emerging tech-based industries in the city is needed.  As it stands, only about two per cent of the office space at Knowledge Park is available.  That’s problematic for local businesses looking to expand. 

“The difficulty we face at the  moment is that often people come and want space immediately, but we’re always in a position where we need the people before we can build the buildings,” said Laura O’Blenis, general manager of Knowledge Park.  In fact,  one company is moving out because it needed more space than was available,  Kealey said.  “Unfortunately, we lost a very good tenant, one that I was particularly attached to because it was a spinoff company from the University of New Brunswick, but we just didn’t have place to accommodate them.  That’s Q1 Labs.  They’re leaving the Park to go to Bishop Drive.” 

Many business parks and incubation centres view 15 per cent vacancy as an ideal, O’Blenis said.  In Fredericton, she said, there’s only one per cent vacancy for Class A office space – the office space that includes a foyer and elevators.  That’s hindering business development, she said.  The addition of 14 buildings would add 650,000 square feet of office space.   

Kealey said companies that are doing research and development are key to the economy.  At UNB, $50 million in research is paid for through private funding, he said.  “Half of that is spent on the people doing the research.”   

Now is the time to make the investment, he said.  “Especially in times of economic uncertainty, we must plan, build and strategize so that we’re equipped and ready to take advantage of long-term opportunities.” 

O’Blenis said it’s an investment in the community’s long-term economic vitality.  “The employment opportunities that they provide are gainful employment opportunities and ones that we hope future generations will be able to work at.”   

Mayor Brad Woodside said the plans are a clear sign Fredericton won’t rest on its laurels.  Diversification of the local economy away from reliance on the civil service has been a cornerstone for years, he said.  “We’re extremely motivated in what we’re doing and we won’t let up,” the mayor said