NU’s tech park grows through land acquisition

While the city of Lincoln, state and University of Nebraska wrangle over a proposed future research park at the State Fairgrounds, the university s existing research and technology park has quietly expanded. The NU Technology Park bought an adjacent 12-acre parcel of undeveloped land from Universal Companies last fall.

Though the park s buildings are currently full, President Steve Frayser said that s not the reason the park bought the land. There are about 112 acres of buildable land in the 151-acre park, and only about one-third have buildings on them, Frayser said. He said the land purchase was seen as an opportunity to provide a buffer between the technology park and an industrial area to the west and prevent a use on the land that might have been less than desirable from the park s point of view.

The technology park, founded in 1996, is home to small start-up companies as well as large established companies such as Verizon Wireless and Cabela’s.