Groundbreaking ceremony held for USD Discovery District

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday for the USD Discovery District.

Construction on the initial infrastructure will begin this week on the 80-acre contemporary, corporate and academic research park.

The goal of the district is to spur innovation-driven businesses, students, researchers and entrepreneurs.

"I think universities have not been the driver of economic development as much as they could be," USD President James Abbott said. "We work with other universities, SDSU, Mines, all of our universities, and this is just one more step to make sure we do our part to advance our state economically."

The district is projected to include 26 privately developed buildings with facility construction value exceeding $314 million and employ nearly 2,800 people.