Good neighbors: Indiana's certified-technology-park program.

• Author: Kaelble, Steve
• Position: Economic Development

GOOD NEIGHBORS ARE always important, whether on a residential street or in a business setting. Building strong high-tech neighborhoods is the goal of Indiana's certified-technology-park program.

In late June, state officials named the 10th certified technology park, awarding the status to downtown Evansville. The city joins locations across the state that have been designated certified technology parks, designed to welcome high-tech businesses with solid technological infrastructure, university connections and tech-focused neighbors. The program includes grants to get the parks off the ground and special tax treatment allowing incremental increases in tax revenues to be funneled back into the parks Dr further improvements and development.

"The certified-technology-park program has been really exciting for me, as I watch communities think in whole new ways about what their opportunities are to grow new businesses," says Lt. Gov. Kathy Davis, whose duties include overseeing the economic-development efforts of the Indiana Department of Commerce.

The technology-park program emerged from the tax-restructuring legislation of 2002. The hope is to boost high-tech economic development within specific areas identified by local development organizations. The program allows for the increased tax revenues generated by park tenants--including property, sales and income taxes--to he reinvested into the park. The money can be used lot improvements, facility operation and maintenance, payment on bonds and other promotional activities. The program also offers grants of up to $500,000 to help get park development rolling.

A host of requirements must be met before the state will declare an area a certified technology park. There must be significant support promised by a university and a commitment to the commercialization of products. A business incubator must be part of the plan, and local officials must line up at least one commitment by a high-tech company to operate within the park.

Davis says the 10 parks designated thus far take a variety of forms. The first to be named was the existing Purdue Research Park, which already had a critical mass of technology pursuits and strong university ties. Not only was it the first Indiana certified technology park, it was one of the first university research parks in the country when it opened in 1961, according Greg Deason, director of research park development for the Purdue Research Foundation. "We're over 2,500...