EXPANSION AT INNOVATION PLACE MEANS JOBS

Economic and Co-operative Development Minister Janice MacKinnon, also

minister responsible for the Saskatchewan Opportunities Corporation

(SOCO), today opened the new Concourse Building at Innovation Place,

Saskatoon's world-renowned research and development park.



The 80,000 square foot building was constructed to meet the demand

from existing tenant businesses for expanded space and from new

businesses who want to be located at Innovation Place. The building

currently houses 12 firms in the Information Technology sector who

employ approximately 200 people. The cost of constructing the

building was $7.9 million, which Innovation Place will recover over

time in rental revenues.



"Every investment in new facilities such as the Concourse building

means more businesses moving into Innovation Place and more jobs for

Saskatchewan people," MacKinnon said. "This high-tech building - with

its state of the art electronic security, automatic sensing systems,

and high standards for energy efficiency - will be home to high-tech

firms. Firms in such areas as engineering, software design and

development, new media and data networking."



Tenants will benefit from the more economical, comfortable and

productive environment that an advanced building provides.



New building design features of the Concourse building include

the following:



use of an integrated design approach has reduced energy use

by approximately half the energy of similar existing

buildings at no additional cost;



use of the latest curtain wall' technology and triple-glazed Sectrally selective windows' has helped to create a more comfortable work space with maximum day lighting;



interior air quality is maintained by measuring CO2 levels

and automatically adjusting fresh-air make up;



occupancy-controlled lighting in meeting rooms and washrooms

ensures that lights are turned off automatically in

unoccupied spaces;



day lighting controls ensure that lights are turned off when

adequate natural light is available;



thermal photography was used during construction to ensure

the building envelope was completely sealed and properly

installed;



one of Saskatchewan's first radiant cooling projects is

being pilot-tested in the new Business Centre; and



a fibre-optic cable infrastructure was installed to ensure

tenants will have the bandwidth capacity for high-speed

multimedia communications.



An independent study conducted in 1997 by the University of

Saskatchewan Studies Group, showed that Innovation Place

generates an annual economic impact of $195 million province wide

and its tenant businesses employ about 2,000 people.



SOCO is a provincial Crown corporation whose mandate is to expand

the economic base of the province by investing in viable

businesses and managing research parks such as Innovation Place

and the Regina Research Park.



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For more information contact:



Austin Beggs, Marketing Manager

Innovation Place

Saskatoon

Phone (306) 933-7464