Stony Brook University is about to issue bids for the construction of an 8,500-square-foot addition to its Calverton incubator facility, according to incubator director Monique Gablenz.
The planned Agriculture Consumer Science Center will provide shared-use processing facilities for agricultural producers and small food producers, Gablenz said. The center will also a provide a product development kitchen for anyone who wants to use the food processing area.
"The product development kitchen will allow them to come to conclusion on their recipes before they occupy the full product line processing area," Gablenz said.
"The Agriculture Consumer Science Center will give farmers and wineries a facility to commercialize their crops," said State Senator Ken LaValle, who secured a $3.5 million state grant for the project in 2008. "The center will give Long Island’s agricultural community the tools needed to develop new marketable consumer items and enhance their product lines,” he said.
"A lot of growers are very excited about this," said Long Island Farm Bureau Executive Director Joseph Gergela. "There's so much interest in value-added," he said. "From condiments to salad dressings to baked goods, the list is endless in terms of what could come out of it," Gergela said.
Gablenz estimated construction on the incubator expansion will begin in June.
Stony Brook University's Calverton Business Incubator opened in 2004. The 15,680-square-foot facility currently includes offices, conference rooms and laboratories. It "reflects the traditional strengths of the East End," focusing on nurturing the development of new agriculture, aquaculture, and environmental technologies, according to the university's website.
The incubator "fosters the growth and success of entrepreneurial companies by providing them with an array of business support, resources and services," LaValle said.
Gablenz said the new center's product development kitchen, which will have viewing panels on two sides, will be used by Stony Brook University Medical Center education and support for diabetes, cardiac and obesity patients, to teach them how to prepare meals that conform to their dietary restrictions.
"We want to maximize the number of uses the facility will have," Gablenz said.
The university is also set to open the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center in Stony Brook later this spring, LaValle announced. That facility will develop cutting edge technologies to explore new ways to produce clean energy, enhance production from renewable sources, and find efficient methods for distribution and storage of energy with minimal impact on local ecosystems, the senator said.
“We need to get all of our resources: academia, business groups, all levels of government and entrepreneurs together to discuss programs, share ideas, set goals and ultimately launch new businesses and products,” LaValle said.
LaValle also announced the creation of the Long Island Technology and Economic Coordinating Council "to bring together Long Island’s rich technology resources – Brookhaven and Cold Spring Harbor Labs — business and academic resources to help entrepreneurs grow ideas from drawings on a napkin to a product in the marketplace.”
