The Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) has announced plans to move forward with design and construction on One Research Drive.
The four-story, multi-tenant, class-A space will be constructed to LEED silver standards and will be the sixth and final building in Technology Neighborhood I, located adjacent to the BMW Information Technology Resource Center.
Fred Cartwright, CU-ICAR executive director, said that while plans for the building have been known for “quite awhile” and have been on the CU-ICAR website, the university has decided it is time to “kick off the more formal process to design the building and complete this neighborhood.”
Cartwright says the center for emerging technologies that was recently completed filled up very quickly and if a company came today looking to locate at CU-ICAR, “we just don’t have any space available.”
The new facility will also house classroom and laboratory space for the Clemson University Department of Automotive Engineering. The academic program has “grown and exceeded our expectations,” said Cartwright.
While no tenants have been named outside the university, Cartwright says they have “pretty good prospects” lined up to move forward with the construction. Tenants are expected to be in the automotive industry.
The final design process is kicking off now and Cartwright hopes to “open the doors” in 2016.
