The City of Cedar Park contracted IPG to deliver a development program and financing feasibility study to Cedar Park Texas’ Economic Development Corporation for a 250,000 square- foot research park on a 13-acre property, an initiative that would put them at the leading edge of technology and innovation.
IPG Services Provided
Development Feasibility Study
Development Services
The IPG development team analyzed the project’s preliminary construction cost, established a future marketing program, and conducted preliminary site analytics and initial schematic design concepts for the research park.
Per the client’s request, IPG also drafted a business plan for a proposed Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)-based Educational Center.
Cedar Park requested the preliminary development feasibility analysis with the intention of gaining market share in the economically powerful industries of life sciences and energy innovation.
Knowing that a modern global society must FUEL (bio-fuels, alternative energy), FEED (agricultural research), and HEAL (biotechnology and pharmaceuticals) the world’s population, Cedar Park would, with the establishment of an innovation center, be on the forefront of emergent need and production in those areas.
We started with an assessment of the project’s competitive strengths, opportunities, and challenges facing Cedar Park, and a characterization of the external environment (changing economic conditions, funding trajectories, technology developments, and so on) that would affect existing businesses and generate new opportunities.
The overall development program and feasibility study were deemed necessary for the establishment of a viable research park in Cedar Park. The consulting phase was designed to lead the team from vision to a realistic plan that would be ready for financing and development.
With these objectives in mind, IPG delivered the following to the client:
Pre-Development and Development Concepts
Market Assessment
Creative Construction Estimates
Financing And Overall Capitalization Ideas/Strategies
Development Plan (Typography, Core Components, Phases)
Architectural Plan (Site Plan, Massing Studies, Final Schematics)
Marketing Program
Financial and subsidy modeling, comprising:
Traditional debt and equity financing
Tax increment financing (TIF) with redevelopment agencies
PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) programs
New Markets Tax Credits and EB-5 Assessment
Environmental tax credits for energy efficiency and other “green” programs
Cross-subsidy projects (revenues from one to partially subsidize another)
The Challenges
1
Figure out how to deliver a feasible and financeable development program to the emerging life science market of Austin, Texas.
2
Mitigate Risk; of non-credit anchor tenants against the incredibly high construction cost of life science research laboratories.
3
How to incorporate a community education and benefit program for the community of Cedar Park and Austin, and how to have it paid for from the project's financing.
The Success
1
Building new bridges between world-class Central Texas research universities and the private sector.
2
Fortifying efforts to attract interest from major companies and organizations to Cedar Park.
3
Cedar Park achieved early success in the development of its research park.
By the end of the study, it was clear Cedar Park had the opportunity to deliver a 200,000-to- 250,000-square-foot, centrally located, affordable innovation hub that would build new bridges between world-class Central Texas research universities and the private sector.
The research park would also fortify efforts to attract interest from major companies and organizations to Cedar Park.
Development costs needed to be subsidized to support rental rates that would be attractive for users. The recommended first step was to deliver an affordable expansion package to the anchor tenant, locally-based Mystic Pharmaceuticals, from their existing antiquated manufacturing space. Securing this anchor tenancy allowed Cedar Park to achieve early success in the development of its research park, positioning Cedar Park as a true innovation-based community with a high quality of life for future Cedar Park researchers and their families.
