Innovista —a $250-million investment— combines a fast-paced research environment and a vibrant, urban lifestyle. With Innovista, the University of South Carolina has reinvented the notion of how and where researchers will live and work—creating a destination for innovation, creativity, entertainment, and culture.
Located in the heart of downtown Columbia, S.C.—and a short walk from the University of South Carolina’s beautiful 200-year-old campus—Innovista integrates public and private sector research in high-tech, high-density facilities. Nearby are a mix of new restaurants, residences, retail, and green spaces for recreation; future development includes a world-class Waterfront Park and, in spring 2009, a new baseball stadium for the nationally ranked South Carolina Gamecocks.
The Horizon Center includes two research-related buildings, one public and one private, focusing, among other research disciplines, on Future Fuels™ research, drawing from a wealth of expertise at the University of South Carolina’s National Science Foundation-sponsored Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Fuel Cells, which includes many major industrial research partners. Future Fuels™ research at USC also is bolstered by the University’s extensive collaborations with the nearby Savannah River National Laboratory, one of 25 Department of Energy-certified world-class laboratories. The Public Health Center consolidates all of the Arnold School of Public Health’s research laboratories into one location. Since its inception in 1975, the Arnold School has experienced significant growth in enrollment and research funding and has attracted top-flight faculty. Discovery Plaza includes two research-related buildings, one public and one private, focusing, among other research disciplines, on biomedical research in cancer and neural sciences and private partners in related research and development. The University of South Carolina’s Center for Brain Imaging and the NIH-funded Center for Colon Cancer Research will also make Discovery Plaza their home.