By next summer, the University will begin expanding its territory to new boundaries.
After purchasing the Albemarle Technical Center from Albemarle Corp., former Gov. Mike Foster, in one of his last decisions in office, gave the land to the University on Jan. 9 to provide better research locations. This sale also will help Albemarle maintain a competitive future.
Foster signed an agreement with Albemarle stating that the company will relocate to a smaller research center near the Exxon refinery and keep its current employees, said Vice President of Investor Relations and External Affairs for Albemarle Michael Whitlow.
Without this agreement, many of the employees would have been forced to relocate to other regions, including the headquarters in Richmond, Va.
“Consolidating the number of locations keeps people in Louisiana,” Whitlow said. “This program allows the company to be competitive and we can continue to do business in the state.”
Albemarle is a company that specializes in creating a variety of chemicals, including IB Profen and flame retardants, Whitlow said.
“We also sell a variety of products from the oil eld and agriculture,” Whitlow said.
The land the state is purchasing in installments equal of $6 million is one of Albermarle’s three operation bases in Louisiana, Whitlow said.
Located south of campus on GSRI Avenue, the Albemarle Technical Center was largely being used for cattle grazing, said Whitlow.
“There are 13 buildings on 153 acres of land, ” Whitlow said. “The buildings are primarily used for laboratories and general ofces.”
Over the next year, the University will relocate certain overpopulated programs to the new facilities, said Chancellor Mark Emmert.
“We will be able to relocate programs in economic development,” Emmert said.
Some elements also being relocated include Homeland Security and chemistry.
“We want to expand growing programs like researching and outreach,” Emmert said.
There will not be classroom teaching at the new location.
There also are large storage areas located on the site, which are air-conditioned and well-kept, Emmert said. This will allow the material to be properly treated.
Emmert said LSU is planning on using the first buildings in the spring and summer.
“We will start as soon as we can get one of the buildings fully occupied, which will take quite a while,” Emmert said.