Monday, May. 12, 2008

Olathe leaders enthusiastically embrace executive of K-State campus

Dan Richardson found himself among Olathe civic and business leaders Thursday receiving praise for his role in a project local leaders think will forever change the landscape of the city.

Tapped last October as the chief executive of the Kansas State University campus at the Kansas Bioscience Park to be built Olathe, Richardson was welcomed with open arms at a reception at Olathe City Hall, 100 E. Santa Fe St.

When K-State President Jon Wefald asked attendees if the university had made the right choice hiring Richardson, they erupted in applause.

"When we were dreaming of this campus, we couldn't have dreamed of a better partner than K-State," Mayor Mike Copeland said. "Then we couldn't have dreamed of a better leader for this campus than Dr. Dan Richardson."

The campus and park — a collaboration among Olathe, the Kansas Bioscience Authority and K-State — will occupy 92 acres at the corner of College Boulevard and Valley Road near Kansas Highways 10 and 7.

Formerly the vice president and chief animal welfare veterinarian for Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc., in Topeka, Richardson will lead the effort to study food safety, animal health and biofuels at the campus, which will occupy 38 acres. The remaining 54 acres will be for office space for bioscience companies.

Wefald said that when the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce identified bioscences as an established industry in the area to build around, K-State wanted a role. The university had made food safety and security its No. 1 priority about a decade ago, Wefald said. Now, 160 scientists and 14 departments make up "the finest food safety academic program in the world," Wefald said. Within that, the university's "animal health program is the best in the world right now," he added. The university would bring that expertise to Olathe, he said.

"So it's kind of like a dream unfolding," he said. "If Kansas City is going to do a great job in that area, we need to be involved."

Frank Taylor, president of the Olathe Chamber of Commerce, said that the university building a campus in Olathe was "the best thing that could have happened to us."

The park will include more than 800,000 square feet of research and office space. It is expected to generate $150 million in public and private investment and create 3,000 new jobs in the next 20 to 30 years.

The KBA has announced two tenants. Fort Dodge Animal Health, a global manufacturer and marketer of animal health products, will build a $40 million, 150,000-square-foot facility on 30 acres and will be staffed by 200 employees.

XenoTech, an in-vitro research firm, will invest nearly $10 million to move its Lenexa-based headquarters to the park. It will build a 54,000-square-foot facility that could double its 100 employees by 2012.

Development of the park has begun. Construction of roads, a turning lane, sidewaks, streetlights and water and sewer lines is taking place and is part of the park's benefit district. Building construction hasn't yet been approved.

Richardson, a K-State alumnus, said he signed on to the project because of the team at the university. That team, he said, has carried over into Olathe.

"It's a team approach all the way," he said. "My success is absolutely based on our success. This is our campus now. It's a very exciting time. I look forward to the opportunity and the path ahead of us."

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