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State and federal officials Tuesday announced the development of a technology park at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to house private companies collaborating with scientists on site.
Officials said the 40-acre Oak Ridge Science and Technology Park will be the first of its kind at a national laboratory.
The Oak Ridge park's first tenant will be the national security engineering center and corporate headquarters for Oak Ridge-based Pro2Serve, an engineering and design firm.
Company president Barry Goss announced Pro2Serve will begin construction of a $15 million, 100,000 square-foot building this summer.
U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, whose district includes Oak Ridge, said he was pleased to see companies able to take advantage of the proximity of researchers while reusing land already cleared for construction.
"This is a tangible way to transfer technology to have businesses come right inside the fence here which doesn't threaten the security that's necessary but will allow some of these older parts of the lab to be put into modern use by local companies and still grow the tax base in the city of Oak Ridge," Wamp says. "So it's really a win-win."
Wamp also says there are already several companies showing interest in the park.
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