Representatives of Iowa State University, Ames and the State of Iowa will break ground for a new Economic Development Core Facility at the Iowa State University Research Park today. Expected to open in mid-2016, the facility will be a one-stop shop for business and industry to seek Iowa State expertise and assistance.

A $12 million state appropriation is supporting construction of the 49,210-square-foot core facility south of the existing Research Park. It is expected to have a capacity of about 100 employees plus conference and meeting space for several hundred people. The Research Park currently has nearly 60 tenants with more than 1,300 employees and a total payroll of more than $70 million. A third phase of expansion at the research park calls for developing another 200 acres, growing the park's employee base to more than 6,000 people.

"This building really will be transformational for the economic development efforts we're making," Iowa State President Steven Leath said. "For the first time, all Iowa State economic development service units will be together, enabling us to provide services in a much more comprehensive and integrated fashion."

Units to be housed in the building include Research Park administrative offices, the Office of Economic Development and Industry Relations, the Center for Industrial Research and Service, the Iowa Small Business Development Center, the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship, the Iowa State Research Foundation Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer, and the Cultivation Corridor regional economic development project. 

The Economic Development Core Facility will be the gateway to campus for business and industry seeking technology or business expertise. And it's going to be a catalyst for a lot of greater things to come.