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Innovation Park/University Park/Southwest Campus


stjoe

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I work in the park. It would be amazing to see some high density, urban development within the park, or on the out-skirts. There are alot of hybrids and bike riders at the maglab. I also see people there 24/7. In a biology lab, I sometimes spend 1hr and 15 minutes commuting in to do a 5 minute task. I would love to walk, or ride a little ways down the road (through the oaks and ponds) to work. Even if along some of the frindges, by private devlopers, i believe there is a great market or decently paid employees.

The airport is a big issue. Just in our humble labs we see in excess of 10 people per month visiting, training, or gawking at the work we do here in tallahassee. We also host several large conferences and training seminars that require not only airfare, but transportation and hotel rooms as well. A little effort now, may help fiscally maintain and grow these simple blips on the money radar into conference center sell outs.

Getting in and out of the park, for me in a small car, is not difficult under normal day to day circumstance. However, throw in a city bus (who always find riders waiting) or a construction truck and the two lane roads become troublesome intersections. I would like to see the smaller busses (maybe even within a Innovation Park, exclusive route).

Within the MagLab we have a little cafe that serves Starbucks coffees and salads. I hear there is a great spot to grab some food within the Engineering building, and a resturant within the Golf coarse. But for a guy like me, i have to drive out to lake bradford or pensicola to grab a burger or sub (and a little to often, the Zax on Cap). It would be nice to have another choice or two within.

I can say that Innovation Park is the best place i have ever worked. But due to my other jobs, that doesnt say too much. I think it is beautiful, and the location has more potential than most. If it can grow within the beauty, then it will be amazing for thosands.

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Certainly...

Leaving Innovation heading towards Lake Bradford, the first residential area you see is a fenced in apartment complex teeming with (and I mean absolutlely no negative connotation) foriegn students and faculty folks.

Then, I am sad to say, the north side, for several blocks all the way to lakebradford, is homes in dissaray, and scary apartments than I have ever lived in, thankfully (there is one immediatly to the south aswell). i see alot of messy homes, full of all kinds of people, so this is in no way a race thing. But there are also a lot of for rent signs, so its a lot of low income, non-caring renters. I was once one on LoveLace myself.(((Florida Remembers I am sure! Do you still have that puppy))).

To the south, towards orange, other than the un-monitored children on go-carts and bikes, I would not mind moving in. There is always alarming characters of the crack head nature (again, as many honkeys as anything else) walking along the sidewalks and bike lanes (who walks in a bike lane?) with the 8.30 am 24pk of Bud-less-wiser.

The turning light for north bound L.Bradforders could use some more priority- I see about 3 cycles of the light each afternoon at 5.45.

The church goers on the corner always use turn signals aswell, which is a place at any turn!

If lake bradford becomes the route of choice between DT and the airport, The derelict properties between orange and Innovation will become diamonds in the rough. (ps.. .there is some clearing and seemingingly encroaching development already in the area- I will keep my eye on for ya's).

Southwood, to me, is inconvenient and should not really be added as benefit yet. There is a mad bottleneck through the two lane areas that will not aid those of us of looking forward to the opening of the eastern tip of orange.

Directly west of Innovation, towards orange directly, is an area i dont come in contact too. I guess that says something about the destinations in that area...

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I think there isn't enough buildable land at Innovation Park for expansion and housing that will attract high paying type research companies.

I think the area needs about a 2,000 acre research park. St Joe has this much land...and much of it near Southwood.

I think it makes a LOT of sense, but I don't think any of the insitutions in the area have enough guts to make a move this big.

Innovation Park has little buildable land left to grow....it is a very limited future. Anything that is large....that would make a BIG impact....won't come.

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There is plenty of land around for redevelopment. Infill would be better in my opinion. Finding the footprint for a nice 6-9 story residential building would not be hard. Especially if you tuck some parking amid it, rather than around it. I dont see it happening any time soon. But if someone were to be on the look for a nice niche within a research park, tucked between DT and an airport, 2 universities, and beautiful hills 30 minutes from the gulf- innovation has the ability to be great for them. I dont see it happening any time soon, but who knows. There is enough room for enough.

Wasnt there talk of a second park already? I dont remember if it was St Joe, but i remember something, maybe northwest...

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"There is plenty of land around for redevelopment. Infill would be better in my opinion. Finding the footprint for a nice 6-9 story residential building would not be hard. Especially if you tuck some parking amid it, rather than around it. I dont see it happening any time soon. But if someone were to be on the look for a nice niche within a research park, tucked between DT and an airport, 2 universities, and beautiful hills 30 minutes from the gulf- innovation has the ability to be great for them. I dont see it happening any time soon, but who knows. There is enough room for enough."

For small little additions....sure. But for a major impact....Innovation Park is tiny and boxed in compared to other parks competing for the same business. FSU has done many studies...some by outside experts that back this up. Research likes to be grouped together and you don't attract it with 'infill' promises.

"Wasnt there talk of a second park already? I dont remember if it was St Joe, but i remember something, maybe northwest... "

Nothing significant. Again, I am talking about major impact. If we are looking to be signficant within 2-3 counties....sure. But if you want to attract real research, there isn't anything in Tally.

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40% of that 'area' is the FSU golf course. Most of the other areas are the alumni village, houses, etc.

Again, FSU's latest master plan discuss in detail how there is limited 'buildable land' out there. That is just the reality.

You won't get a major amount of addition research out there with that land limitation.

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Some quotes from a file I downloaded a while back but can't find online anymore. Might be of interest.

"Partially due to the perceived abundance of available land at the Southwest

Campus, space in this area is now being seriously considered for recreation as

well as other activities. This prompted a master planning study to be

commissioned at the end of 2003 to explore opportunities for further development

of the property."

"The Southwest Campus, in general, contains major environmental

features. Karsts, wetlands, significant slopes in the terrain, and sinkholes

are present throughout much of the area. Several small but significant

portions of the campus are in the 100-year flood plain, the primary

segment extending north-south from the railroad along Paul Dirac Drive

down to Orange Avenue. Notably there is a drainage sub-basin along

Roberts Road east of Innovation Park. The Bradford Brook Chain-of-

Lakes to the south and southwest of the campus, across Orange Avenue,

provides a natural barrier and is a significant regional environmental

feature to be protected from polluted runoff. Changes in topography and

elevation, both natural and manmade are over much of the region."

"Existing laboratory and office space at Innovation Park do not meet longterm

University needs. FSU currently uses four existing buildings at

Innovation Park, most of which do not contain sufficient laboratory space to

meet University needs. On-site amenities, such as dining facilities, are nonexistent

in the area. Development of future amenities is desired in the area to

serve the existing population, and to attract potential visitors, scientists,

symposiums and lectures. Transportation between the Main Campus and

research facilities on the Southwest Campus needs to be improved and

increased. Further exploration of phasing strategies for future research

facilities is recommended prior to implementation."

"Although Phase III has been master planned, it

may be difficult to fit the future expansion on existing available land ($20

million has been requested but may not be enough). Sinkholes, detention

ponds, wetlands, and property boundaries limit buildable land in this area."

see pages 112 on

128 Land Ownership map

131 uses map

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Thanks for sharing that interesting article stjoe. I've not read a piece that long on Economic Development and Community redevelopment in quite some time. It was nice. :)

I'm not debating the fact that buildable land immediately around Innovation park is scarce, but what I do know is there are crumbling apartment communities, many of which have already been described by murphy, run-down trailer parks, industrial uses, car yards, and many other poorly maintained properties in that highlighted area.

We need a serious push in this community for people to step up and pull their weight, by enforcing the codes on the books to get property owners to clean up and maintain their property the way they ought to. We cannot have pockets of nice areas linked by blighted/slumish/ugly/industrial stretches of road. We need to beautify the linkages, especially along our main streets. I feel like we're ignoring a significant stretch along Lake Bradford. If it is not enhanced beyond its current state, all of the work on Gaines will be pointless.

I'm sorry, but if I'm an executive of a company looking to relocate, and someone has to drag me through the slums to get to Innovation Park, my reaction is "Thanks but no thanks".

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I also work in Innovation Park and use to take the bus to get to work. I ride my scooter to work now. From what I have noticed, most of the houses in the area are poorly built and not well cared for. I don't know if there is anything worth cleaning up.

I would love to live closer to my work but my only options are the student ghetto and the slum.

Frankly I don't know what the city can do to clean it up. What did they do in Frenchtown to revitalize it? Perhaps the same incentives can be offered here? Perhaps they already have been offered here?

The bus stop that I used to use was at the corner of Levy and Iomina. The people who lived in the house on the corner used to sit out side in thier garage all the time and stare at us. It was awkward standing there, waiting for the bus. Perhaps that is why they moved it to the top of the hill? Perhaps the people who lived there complained to the city about the bus riders? Who knows.

If I had a camera, I'd take pictures of the area.

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DD, I'm not even sure the city has had the desire to clean up this area. A little lip service has been given to a projects that occured in the Providence neighborhood. There are some brand new 1,600 sq.ft. townhomes on Lake Avenue that they can't give away... because the neighborhood is run down.

lake-ave-elev.jpg

I think the historic pattern in Tallahassee has been to push the less desirable land uses to this corner of the city.

What do Leon County's worst performing schools, Bowel Movements, City Trash, Loud Airplanes, junk yards, and Road Prisons have in common?!?!

SW Tallahassee.

The City recognizes this. They've been studying it for years, but very little has been done beyond the Sector plan I'm about to share with you.

lb_logo.jpg

The Following Were Identified as Key Problems:

1. Protect Lake Bradford and the Chain of Lakes

2. Restore lands impacted by landfills/sandmines

3. Develop a balanced future land use pattern

4. Provide a functioning transportation system that does not degrade the environment or quality of life.

5. Address crime and blight areas.

I forgot to include the actual sector Plan.

Lake Bradford Workplan

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I say bulldoze east of innovation park, untill you hit a nice neighborhood, or lake bradford! If people are proud of thier neighborhood, they wouldnt allow garbage to pile up like they do. If the SW Campus expanded East, alot of these problems could be solved. It would be major, but once the economies turn around and tax issues settle, it could become completely possible.

Another research park would be nice though. Something to pitch to possible buyers, you can have A or B. Sometimes a choice within a choice is a plus.

ps- dont forget there is more to innovation park than magnets! Microscopy history is made daily!

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Do a search for Microscopy with Google... The Wikepedia article references our site. Then is the Michael Davidson creation "Molecular Expressions" (yes, he's the tie guy). The Nikon page, and Olympus Page are our partners so we do thier sites in exchange for amazing Microscopes on the leading edge of development. What we use them for you may ask?! Check out the website, you can get lost for days! Everything from What the crystaline structure of your favorite foods, beverages (alot of adult beverages), and vitamins. Insects, brain pieces, cells of all sorts in videos and pictures. it is amazing how much gets published out of our labs every month. I have never seen my name in so many places!

Check it out:

The Amazing World of Tally Microscopy!

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FYI, look at this:

http://tlcgis6.co.leon.fl.us/output/PACada...84228410514.png

This is an areal shot of land owned by St Joe just Souith of capital circle and west of Southwood. They have THOUSANDS of acres of raw land. A RARE commodity to have this much continuous raw land.

Great place to reserve about 2000 acres for research and put suitable housing nearby. Room to grow, cheap land, suitable housing....

This is a no brainer to me. But again, local institutions have very small ambitions and a complete lack of ability to work together. Other cities don't have these issues.

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  • 1 month later...

MAG LAB OPEN HOUSE!

February 23, 2008 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Free and open to the public

Mag Lab Open House

National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Every February, the Magnet Lab invites the public to spend the day at our world-class research laboratory. The free event, which draws thousands of visitors every year, features hands-on demonstrations, self-guided tours, games and the chance to meet our scientists and other Mag Lab staff. Booths line the hallways of our 330,000-square-foot facility, featuring explanations and activities related to physics, chemistry, biology and more. Targeting a variety of ages, this event has become a popular family outing and is a unique opportunity to show children how fun

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  • 1 month later...

From the Democrat:

They also approved up to $875,000 to build a 10,000-square-foot bioscience incubator facility at Innovation Park, to possibly house Cypress Systems, a biotechnology firm. Tallahassee is one of several communities the California-based company is considering for relocation. Michael Parker, the city's economic development director, said the facility might be built even if Cypress doesn't relocate here.

Even though this is a small move on the commission's part, at least it's a step in the right direction. If I recall reading about this company before, I don't think they will be bringing many jobs here. However I believe they will be high paying jobs.

Does anyone know anything about Cypress? If they did move here, what do you think their potential for growth is...talking jobs here.

I also like the fact that COT may build the place, I ASSume as a spec building?, even if the company doesn't come here.

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From the Democrat:

They also approved up to $875,000 to build a 10,000-square-foot bioscience incubator facility at Innovation Park, to possibly house Cypress Systems, a biotechnology firm. Tallahassee is one of several communities the California-based company is considering for relocation. Michael Parker, the city's economic development director, said the facility might be built even if Cypress doesn't relocate here.

Even though this is a small move on the commission's part, at least it's a step in the right direction. If I recall reading about this company before, I don't think they will be bringing many jobs here. However I believe they will be high paying jobs.

Does anyone know anything about Cypress? If they did move here, what do you think their potential for growth is...talking jobs here.

I also like the fact that COT may build the place, I ASSume as a spec building?, even if the company doesn't come here.

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