CPPI Leads in Construction that Facilitates Innovation

Gainesville, Fla. – The University of Florida recently ranked no. 1 nationally in innovation impact, according to a report released by the George W. Bush Institute and the Opus Faveo Innovation Development consulting firm.

Charles Perry Partners, Inc. (CPPI) is thrilled to be at the forefront of the construction of buildings that facilitate these innovation efforts at leading universities, including UF Innovate | The Hub, a state-of-the-art, efficient and functional, multi-level technology business incubator facility.

Since The Hub’s expansion in 2018, it currently serves nearly 50 Gainesville startup companies. The university has cultivated more than 60 companies in biotech, and more than a dozen of them have been acquired by major agricultural biotech, food, energy, and pharmaceutical enterprises, according to the report.

“For our size, we move more technologies to the point of impact than anyone else, period,” Jim O’Connell, assistant vice president for commercialization at UF and director of UF Innovate told UF News. “In the simplest sense, that is the ultimate job of all tech transfer organizations, and UF does it really, really well.”

CPPI was the prime contractor of The Hub’s first and second phases, both of which received LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Features of the space, including laboratory access, advanced audiovisual capabilities, and flexible office space, provide customized support for each company’s mission.

The LEED Certification program ensures that projects are more cost effective and environmentally friendly. Projects are measured against 57 distinct criteria in the areas of sustainable sites, location & transportation, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials & resources, indoor environmental quality, innovation, and regional priority.

CPPI also constructed the LEED Gold Certified Research I building at the University of Central Florida and the Interdisciplinary Academic Building at Georgia Southern University.

At UCF, the Research 1 interdisciplinary facility hosts incubator labs, research labs, material characterization space, office space, support areas, and conference rooms for collision and collaboration. Work in nanoscience technology, lasers and photonics, advanced materials processing and analysis, and energy research are conducted within the facility, which features two Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) rooms. These rooms are specially designed and constructed to accommodate multimillion-dollar electron microscopes. Research I also hosts the Faculty Cluster Initiative, a group of 50 faculty members that concentrate on the “toughest scientific and societal challenges through teaching and research,” according to the initiative’s website. The building also won an ABC Eagle Award for excellence in construction and a Construction Owners Association of America (COAA) Gold Award for project leadership.

At GSU, the 110,000 square-foot Interdisciplinary Academic Building features interactive classrooms and research lab spaces for the interior design, fashion merchandising and apparel design, history, foreign language, and international studies departments. The facility received an Excellence in Construction Eagle Award. The building’s construction features slanted corbel brick wall, exterior mesh screens, and an atrium with significant use of exterior glass to provide an open aesthetic.

For more information, visit UF News.

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Ranked one of Engineering News-Record’s 2020 “Top Contractors,” Charles Perry Partners, Inc. (CPPI) is one of the Southeast’s largest privately held construction firms. Recognized as a powerhouse of innovation, sustainability, craftsmanship and expertise, CPPI performs a wide range of design-build, construction management and general contracting services, including project planning and modeling, budget estimating and cost management, project scheduling and construction.