BizTECHNOLOGY
Tech Parks Arizona Provides Customized Support
Connecting Industry, University & Community By Rhonda Bodfield Businesses may share common denominators, but there’s no single recipe for success. Some may need dual-power feeds or redundant systems in their infrastructure. Others need flexible space to make operational adjustments. Some need synergies with other companies or connections to university, industry and community. And they all need to attract – and then retain – highly qualified and talented staff. That’s where the 18-member Tech Parks Arizona team comes in to foster “Communities of Innovation” – a phrase shared by leaders in the Association of University Research Parks as a nod to the potential of anchor institutions to build innovation ecosystems in their regions. With 150 years of collective experience among team members, they provide customized support to each company within the park. “The companies that come here are drawn because of our connection to the university community and to other industries,” said Ken Marcus, chief financial operating officer at Tech Parks Arizona. “They come here because of the type of facilities we have,” he added. “While companies are attracted to the facilities, I think the relationships we build are the reason companies stay here and grow, providing high-quality jobs in Tucson.” Marcus said part of the mix of a healthy economic ecosystem in the rewww.BizTucson.com
gion lies in retaining big anchor companies like IBM, which was there at the beginning and remains part of the park to this day. A second piece lies in attracting large existing companies to the region – with Caterpillar and Hexagon as recent examples drawn to Tucson because of the university. The other important piece is growing local innovation – from attracting foreign investment to nurturing new technology companies and building the future pipeline of workers. In 2009, for example, the UA Tech Park at Rita Road began working with Tucson Electric Power in building the Solar Zone, one of the largest grid-level, multi-technology solar demonstration sites in the North America. Just shy of a dozen companies work together, focused on expanding renewable energy resources in Southern Arizona. In partnership with Vail School District, the park has supported its Boxer Bot robot team. “You want to excite the younger generation about this work so you can help put them on a path to the high-tech jobs of the future,” Marcus said. Ensuring a varied mix of companies takes different strategies. It might include working with municipalities to ensure the right infrastructure – such as the traffic signal at the west entrance to UA Tech Park on Kolb Road or making improvements to Rita Road to support 6,000 knowledge workers coming and going every day. Or it may include hosting pop-up parties in the park or
massages for all employees onsite to celebrate National Relaxation Day. As a seven-year member of the board of directors for the Association of University Research Parks, Marcus has the advantage of learning about the other 200-plus research parks in North America, as well as some international parks. It’s a way to network and absorb best practices. But it’s also a way to see how Tucson stacks up. The UA Tech Park at Rita Road, one of the facilities run by Tech Parks Arizona, is one of the premier parks in the country, he said. That bragging right stems in part from its geographic size at approximately 1,300 acres and its employment numbers – but also because of its economic impact. “UA Tech Park tenants have a $2 billion impact in Arizona. That’s a staggering number and it just demonstrates the impact our tenants have on the region,” he said. Marcus said even after 20 years at the park, there’s never a dull moment. “One moment, you’re wearing a landlord-tenant relations hat, then you put on your hard hat or your economic development hat. You’re helping companies learn how to partner with the university and figuring out the amenities we need to retain them, as working to attract international companies to Tucson. We’re good at what we do – and companies stay, grow and innovate, providing those high-quality jobs we support to spread the economic growth in the region.”
Biz Fall 2019
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