From the Director
North Carolina is spending $50 Million on
something we already have in Athens.
by Ryan Moore
I
n any discussion of research parks, the Research Triangle Park
(RTP) in North Carolina is usually men oned. RTP is the largest,
and one of the first, research parks in the country. It is designed
to be a place where research en es come together to invent
the future. So when the RTP announced in October of last year to
invest $50M in “Park Center”, people around the na on took no ce.
This is a new direc on from the tradi onal research park model. The
Park Center vision calls for the collabora on and collision of nature,
of art and ideas, for open spaces and streetscapes, for bold ideas and
expressionism.
If you delve into the marke ng material that ar culates the vision
behind the Park Center, you will find much discussion about the need
for authen city within the development. It seems somewhat
counterintui ve to fabricate authen city. If there is anything that
Athens is – Athens is authen c. So if one of the most successful
research parks in the United States is making an a empt to fabricate
what Athens has inherently built, are we not missing an opportunity?
Should we not be capitalizing on the culture and uniqueness of
Athens to a ract innova ve and technological companies from
around the world?
The new development is slated for 100 acres in the center of RTP,
and what is interes ng is that the aspira ons of this development in
many ways reflects what the community in Athens already has. We
already have a beau ful, walkable community with eclec c residents
that strive to create, that crave knowledge, that exist to innovate,
that value the arts, that believe in a be er future in which
technology is put to work for the common good. We Athenians exist
in a community that is eerily similar to what RTP is striving to create.
I would argue that the opportunity for collabora on between our
ins tu ons of higher learning, this local government, and private
sector is greater now than it has ever been in Athens. We are striving
every day to encourage investment in technology, plant, and
equipment by companies who are going to make our future. In
Athens, we are not faced with fabrica ng authen city; we are forced
to consider that this Athens that we all love is not just a great place
to be, but a great place to be Made.
Downtown Athens, Georgia
Winter
17
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