FISTA ready to launch construction on new amenities, work space

FISTA Innovation Park is ready to launch new construction projects, as the entity’s governing board stays on track to add amenities and working space for its tenants.

“There is no end date for the FISTA,” said Mark Brace, chairman of the FISTA Development Trust Authority, as he addressed members of the Mayor’s Economic Development Summit — one of multiple entities that used conference space within FISTA to hold sessions in recent months.

Brace highlighted FISTA’s $37 million budget for the current fiscal year, a budget he said reflects new projects that will be under way within weeks or by year’s end, including a STEM lab for city youth, a business incubator/accelerator, new conference space, a cafe and kitchen, and renovations to convert old retail space into new tenant space.

Brace said 90 percent of the 110,000 square feet available in the former Sears store on Central Plaza’s west end is under contract, and the remaining 10 percent has tenants “penciled in.” At the former Dillard’s store on the mall’s south side, one unnamed company is “penciled in” for all 95,000 square feet of that space, Brace said.

One of the new projects drawing support from a variety of entities is FISTA’s STEM Lab, a facility to be built within recently-vacated retail space just outside FISTA eastern wall. That facility has state support: it is one of three projects to be funded with a $20 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant awarded to FISTA last year.

Brace said the goal is creating an eco-system of science, technology, math and engineering that will appeal to high school and college-age students, drawing them to STEM-related careers. It’s a natural fit, he said, explaining some of the best technology in the county can be found within FISTA.

FISTA’s governing board is ready to move forward with its STEM Lab, as well as an accelerator, MakerSpace and manufacturing space, voting this week to use a construction manager at risk approach for construction. That process means selecting a contractor to manage the project, to include selecting subcontractors (with the trust’s approval) and overseeing the work.

It’s the same approach FISTA has used for every construction component, trust members said.

“We’re ready to move forward with ARPA,” said FISTA CEO/President Krista Ratliff, adding it is time to solicit requests from firms ready to handle that management task.

Ratliff said the STEM Lab, while outside FISTA’s secured area, will be close enough to use other new components, including a cafeteria and kitchen area. That STEM Lab also will have direct access to the amenities of Central Plaza, which, in turn, will give FISTA employees more direct access to Central Plaza via secured doors that allow people to exit the secured area, but not enter.

Ratliff said the lab will take up about 20,000 square feet of former retail space, including what was Old Navy. Officials don’t yet know the total cost of construction; that will be determined once a construction manager is hired, she said.

“It’s a long time in coming,” Brace said. “It’s a very important piece of what we do.”