CSULB research park takes flight

By Michelle Fithian, On-Line Forty-Niner

Tuesday, September 15, 1998

After groundbreaking this past April, the Cal State Long Beach Research and Training Park is taking flight.

Last week, the Foundation received a $1.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to fund the construction and development of more than 32 acres of surplus land given to the university by the U.S. Navy last spring. The research park lies on Pacific Coast Highway next to the Terminal Island Freeway.

"It's an exciting time for this project," said Mo Tidemanis, director of property management for CSULB. "We're meeting all of our goals."

With the first phase of the project complete - the demolition of eight acres - it is well on its way of becoming something from nothing.

Many of the new structures currently being built will be leased out to private companies in the near future. Any revenue accumulated will go directly back to the Foundation to fund the research center or other foundation projects, Tidemanis said.

Currently two buildings are undergoing renovations and hope to open their doors Oct. 1. The Long Beach Enterprise Center and The Venture Access Project will be occupying the space. Both of these projects are nonprofit and are funded by the city of Long Beach.

The Foundation was offered a partnership in the training center with the city, and will provide administrative services to the research park.

The Long Beach Enterprise Center, a part of the park, is referred to as the small business incubator by Tidemanis and the Long Beach City Council. It will provide 30 up-and-coming companies with everything they need to get started. The Venture Access Project will focus on established companies in Japan who are interested in the American market.

For the first time, the U.S. Navy has transferred surplus land to civilians for use. The entire project has taken some time to get moving.

"I started working on this project in 1992," Tidemanis said.

CSULB President Robert Maxson is enthusiastic about the project.

"The future looks good," Maxson said. "It's a wonderful opportunity to bring together the academic world with the work world."

The research park is the only project of its kind in the California State University system, funded exclusively through the Foundation. Back-to-back grants received from the state and the federal government have kept the project flying at an unbelievable pace, according to Tidemanis.

The land's 600,000 square feet will accommodate a variety of CSULB research and training programs including three College of Engineering projects.

The Commercial Deployment of Transportation Technologies Center, the Protection Against Natural Disasters Center and the Manufacturing Center may have a home in the research park in the near future, Tidemanis said.