Leon County interested in giving FAMU partial ownership of Innovation Park

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Kristin Dozier, the new chairwoman of the Leon County Research and Development Authority, wants FAMU to consider accepting full ownership of some of the county-owned buildings in Innovation Park.

“We have an incredible untapped resource of the research and technology coming from our universities and how that can be translated into small businesses and job creation," Dozier said in quote published by WFSU.

Innovation Park, home to the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, was established 30 years ago to create more local jobs by attracting public and private researchers to Tallahassee. But the fallout from a recent embezzlement scandal involving the park’s former executive director has left the authority operating at a financial loss.

Currently, Innovation Park's tenants rent building space from Leon County and pay maintenance fees. Dozier says the county could save money by simply transferring ownership of the park's buildings to entities such as FAMU.

There are 17 buildings in Innovation Park. According to the Tallahassee Democrat: "[Florida State University] now occupies 79 percent of the buildings. At 8.2 percent, the next largest tenants are private companies like Danfoss Turbocor Compressors Inc., and 7 percent by the state. FAMU occupies 3.7 percent with one full building and a portion of another."

Dozier, who is also a Leon County Commissioner, told the Democrat that she wants to make sure that any potential division process for the park’s assets treats FAMU and FSU fairly.

FAMU Interim President Larry Robinson and FSU President Eric Barron have been invited to discuss this issue with the authority at a meeting scheduled for next month.

The opportunity to own buildings in Innovation Park would be a tremendous benefit to FAMU during a time when the Florida Legislature is providing little support to public universities that need to construct new facilities. The Public Education Capital Outlay fund, which formerly financed most of the new construction projects in the State University System of Florida, is in dire financial straits.

FAMU could use the new Innovation Park properties to develop more laboratories for critical research-producing schools such as the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. It could also use the buildings for classroom space and faculty offices.
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