Agenda - 05-20-2004-4 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Foy asked Ms. Pisano if UNC had made a commitment to building a certain number of square feet for the medical school or for her lab. He also asked if she had a partner and if she and that partner envision having sharing workspace.. Flow much space would that be, Mayor Foy asked, and would it be a new facility? Ms. Pisano replied that she had been actively negotiating with a donor regarding fimding for equipment. She was also planning to construct a 20,000 square foot building that would support faculty offices, labs, and staff, she said. Ms. Pisano stated that she did not yet know who would fund that, but she was actively working to find partners and had been talking with big name pharmaceutical and imaging companies. Ms. Pisano expressed optimism about the probability of success. Mayor Foy asked about a timeline. Ms. Pisano replied that the plan was to have the project funded and built within five years. She stressed that she had been successfitl in raising money over the past five months, having recruited a large donor, and that the UNC Provost had been talking about matching contributions for faculty. Ma Pisano pointed out that "money raises more money," and noted that a donor can be very important to obtaining investments from private industry. Mayor Foy verified that Ms. Pisano's goal was to move her lab off campus to Carolina North. Donna Bryant, Associate Director of the Frank Porter Graham (FPG) Child Development Institute, told Council members that FPG was currently crunched for' space in four buildings in four separate locations. Carolina North would provide the opportunity to bring their teams together and enhance their efficiency, creativity and collegiality, she said. Ms. Bryant explained that FPG hoped to build astate-of-the-art early childhood center at Carolina North that would have research and training activities. Council Member Hill determined from Ms. Bryant that FPG envisioned public/private partnerships in the future and was pursuing those possibilities. Council Member Ward verified that the local School System would be FPG's likely partner. Ms. Bryant commented that there had been much interest in new partnerships and new opportunities for studying ways to bring three- and four year-olds into the elementary school system. Council Member Ward determined that FPG works with children from six weeks to five years of age. Ms, Bryant explained that about a third of them have diagnosed learning disabilities and another third qualify for subsidies. She stated that now would be an ideal time to create a model early school, which some have called "The First School Initiative." Mayor Foy asked if it mattered where at Carolina North the facility would be located and at what phase it would be built. Ms. Bryant replied that everyone, of course, wanted to be in the first phase. She pointed out, though, that FPG requires a playground about nine acres large. So the planning committee was trying to determine where FPG would best fit, she said Council Member Kleinschmidt ascertained that FPG anticipated funding this venture in four or five years.