January 21, 2014
No additional land required for NBAF facility itself
The following is a letter to the editor submitted to the Manhattan Mercury on Jan. 17:
A headline in the Jan. 16 Manhattan Mercury — “Schulz: NBAF will require 31 more acres of land” — was misleading. Kansas State University President Kirk Schulz was referring to a potential need for more land development in his remarks to the Kansas Board of Regents. A consulting firm identified this need, and others, while examining the possible effects of the lab’s eventual construction.
The laboratory itself will require no additional land from what has been transferred to the Department of Homeland Security. Any future development will occur within the framework of the university’s master plan, in conjunction with local and regional planners.
Speculation in the article that the land would come from university property currently used for agricultural research is unfounded. The university highly values the proximity of research property to the main campus and has been cited by accrediting bodies for maintaining this arrangement. One has to look no further than the internationally recognized grain science complex to see the benefits of co-location.
By planning now for the future needs of the university and community, K-State will help our community leverage the NBAF investment. This is an exciting time for our region, and we look forward to a prosperous future.