A subsidiary of SunTrust Banks is providing $3.2 million in financing for a new research center at Auburn University.
SunTrust Community Capital announced today its assistance to the Research and Innovation Center in the Auburn Research Park at Auburn University. The 105,000-square-foot office building, part of a University-affiliated master-planned research and development campus, will create 125 temporary full-time construction jobs and 101 permanent full-time jobs.
The center is expected to open in the third quarter of 2020. It will be home to several entities, such as the Auburn Business Incubator and the Tiger Cage Accelerator, which helps student entrepreneurs develop businesses.
The financing will come in the form of new market tax credits, provided through a partnership with UB Community Development, a certified community development entity of United Bancorpration of Alabama. Additional debt was provided by United Bank, as well as a construction loan from River Bank and Trust.
The building is being constructed by the Auburn Research and Technology Foundation, a non-profit economic development research group affiliated with Auburn University. Additional space in the center will be used to attract private technology companies and research institutions in the areas of cyber security, health sciences, and additive manufacturing.
Chris Leutzinger, first vice president and NMTC relationship manager at SunTrust Community Capital, said the center will help incubate companies and create jobs throughout the state of Alabama.
"These New Market Tax Credits are a critical component of the financing for the project and are emblematic of the positive impact of the NMTC program,” Leutzinger said.