DATE: August 08, 2008
CONTACT:
Alan Godfrey, (864) 656-5516
galan@clemson.edu
WRITER:
Peter Hull, (843) 554-7226, ext 118
phull@clemson.edu
Master planners selected for the Clemson University Restoration Institute
NORTH CHARLESTON — Part of the former Charleston Navy base is moving toward its new mission: a high-tech research center for Clemson University.
The university has selected Burt Hill Inc., a planning, architecture and engineering firm headquartered in Washington, to develop a master plan for the Clemson University Restoration Institute.
Burt Hill is highly regarded for its experience and qualifications, ranging from architecture and master planning to ecological restoration and economic development. Thirteen teams submitted qualification statements for this project.
Selecting a master planner is a significant step in a process that will transform a brownfield site into an 86-acre state-of-the-art park, said Alan Godfrey, the Restoration Institute’s director of real estate and financial affairs.
Burt Hill’s team will work closely with university faculty and staff to develop an inter-disciplinary research park that encompasses the Restoration Institute’s six focus areas: advanced materials, methods and processes; community revitalization; historic preservation and materials conservation; renewable energy; resilient infrastructure; and restoration ecology.
“Burt Hill will help lay the foundations of what will be an innovative campus in North Charleston,” Godfrey said. “This planning process is just the beginning.”
Planning and initial design work is expected to take about a year to complete.
Burt Hill previously worked with the Noisette Co. at the Navy base. The Clemson site will involve partnerships with local and national firms to help develop the master plan.
Davis & Floyd of North Charleston will address issues related to civil engineering, land surveying, site utilities and cost estimating. DesignWorks of Charleston will assist with site planning and landscape architecture.
More specialized firms, such as Tidewater Environmental of John’s Island and Washington-based ERA Associates, will deal with business market analysis and ecological restoration, respectively.
Harry Gordon, Burt Hill’s chairman and chief operating officer, said he is proud the company was selected to develop the North Charleston campus.
“Clemson’s leadership in research that enhances the restoration economy fits perfectly with Burt Hill’s business direction and we are excited to be a part of the institute's endeavors in defining its campus,” Gordon said.
In addition to Burt Hill, in July, Mount Pleasant-based architectural firm McKellar & Associates was chosen to renovate the first two buildings that will become key elements of the Institute.
McKellar will provide design services to transform a former Navy barracks, known as Building 658, and the historic Building 590A — the former U.S. Coast Guard station — into modern facilities. The two buildings were built in 1964 and 1934, respectively.
The Restoration Institute is the first formal academic organization focused on the restoration economy, bringing together experts and researchers and to drive economic growth through restoration industries and technology.
When developed, the site will offer laboratories and facilities for public-private partnerships, research and development outlets involved in restoration processes and Clemson research and graduate education.
For more information on the Restoration Institute and the North Charleston Research Park, go to www.clemson.edu/restoration.
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