By GUY C. DENECHAUD

Preliminary work on the installation of utilities and site preparation at the InnoVision Business Campus is expected to move ahead this fall.

The park, adjacent to Lebanon Business Park near the Lebanon Airport, received unanimous planning board approval to build technology, laboratory and office buildings on the site at the end of last year.

Michael Vereline, partner of the ownership entity that is developing the Upper Valley Technology Park, said bid packets were ready to go out in July to prospective site work contractors. DEW Construction Company, the general contractor for construction on the site, is also a partner in the ownership of the business campus.

Marketing packages about the development were being distributed this summer to potential occupants and owners of spaces to be constructed at the campus, according to Steve Morton, vice president of business development for DEW.

Most of the companies expressing the greatest interest in locating at the InnoVision Business Campus were growing firms active in the biotechnology, advanced technology and research and development fields, which is the target audience for the development.

“These are types of companies that are thriving in the Upper Valley today and competing for limited available space,” Vereline said.

Many high-quality jobs are likely to be created over the next few years by companies operating in this centrally located light industrial development area, he said.

Significant progress has been made in preparation for construction at the campus, said Ingrid Moulton Nichols of Banwell Architects, who is accredited in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program and is leading Banwell’s architectural team in the project design.

The preliminary plan is to construct the first new 42,000-square-foot building on the site, with the opportunity for more buildings in the future. The buildings have been designed as three-story structures integrated with the site and landscaped to create a desirable workplace.

Nichols said Banwell has developed a prototype building design that features an attractive architectural exterior and LEED-certified efficiency using certified-green wood products, windows intended to maximize passive solar collection ability, low-flow plumbing, energy- efficient lighting and a tight building envelop with high interior air quality.

“Other green features in the design include preferred parking for fuel-efficient vehicles; managed storm-water generation; planting of shade trees; the selection of local building products with recycled content; and recycling of construction waste,” he said.

Because the buildings will be visible to an extent from Interstate 89, there will be a special enhanced window design at the building corners. The main entry will feature a canopy; inside, a tall atrium will allow for natural light, Nichols said.

Dan Nash of Advanced Geomatics & Design of Lebanon is the civil engineer for the project. The majority of the infrastructure, such as roads, water, sewers and electrical utility lines needed to support businesses at the campus, is accessible a short distance away due to the existing Lebanon Business Park. Connecting them into the new InnoVision Business Campus is one of the first tasks planned for the 37-acre property this fall.

The rate of development at the business campus will be determined by the size and number of firms that express interest in moving there. A landscaped layout is planned that will utilize a portion of the parcel, while preserving the wetlands and leaving room for additional buildings in the future. ?