With its completion of the purchase of the former NYSEG property adjacent to the campus, Binghamton University’s science and engineering programs can get back on the fast track said President Lois B. DeFleur.

The University recently completed the purchase of the property, which includes a 92,000-square-foot building, 21 acres of land and more than 500 parking spaces, for $6.1 million.

“Our ambitious research initiatives and the expansion of our science programs can now move to the fast track,” DeFleur said. “This acquisition provides the University with the additional space we need to develop and enhance programs that will contribute significantly to the economies of our community and the state.”

As part of its long-range plan, the University intends to gradually increase its enrollment in both graduate and undergraduate areas, and expand its science and engineering programs. The newly acquired property will allow for establishment of an Innovative Technologies Complex. Facilities will be targeted for research and engineering, including the Advanced Biotechnologies Center, targeted technology incubators, research laboratories, facilities for education and training and public programs. Completion of the purchase allows the University to begin to capitalize on its research in three specialty fields: advanced sensor design, threat detection and protein dynamics — the study of all proteins produced by an organism and their operational networks they form with one another. “Research in these areas will help to improve and defend the quality of life in New York State and beyond by producing breakthroughs in disease and transplant diagnostics, garnering defense funding for research into chemical and biological sensors, and enhancing communication technologies,” DeFleur said.

The University’s new Center for Protein Dynamics, with at least $12 million in related research, is just one initiative that could move rapidly forward as a result of the property purchase. According to Frances Carr, vice president for research, this and other research centers that will be located at the site will help to attract research grants and faculty to Binghamton. “This property can be a magnet for sponsored funding and will allow us to build on our existing resources,” she said. “Coupled with energetic programs of technology transfer, commercialization and business incubation, this property will allow us to help spark economic development in the Southern Tier region.”

Ralph Tedesco, NYSEG’s president, echoed that sentiment. “We’re glad to move this purchase forward in a way that works for Binghamton University, the Town of Vestal and NYSEG,” said Tedesco. “The University is a critical component of the economic engine that drives the Southern Tier, and its expansion plans will help local businesses grow, create good-paying jobs and give young people another reason to make the Southern Tier their home.”

The University intends to begin the needed renovations to the building immediately.