OVERVIEW

Located in fast growing South Columbia, Discovery is our newest project and will contain 700,000 square feet of retail space, 400,000 square feet of office space, and over 500 residential dwelling units.

Discovery will be a combination mixed-use planned community consisting of residential units, offices and commercial uses - all in architectural styles unique to Columbia, expanding on the innovative design of our latest project, The Broadway Shops.

The commercial development will accommodate large retailers among which will be several who cannot currently find sufficient frontage on a Columbia highway to locate their businesses. Discovery will contain multiple phases, including an upscale “power center”, a “lifestyle center”, and individual buildings with much attraction for restaurants and other high volume commercial tenants needing great highway visibility and ease of access.

The location of Philips Lake bordering the property provides a no-cost amenity for the planned residential, office and commercial developments at Discovery. The benefits offered by the Lake in conjunction with the adjacent regional park are numerous. Along with scenic views and seldom-seen green space for a project of this scope, the lake will provide a market niche in the office and residential marketplace, while the park will bring many consumers to the Discovery area.

A new Highway 63 interchange will be constructed for Discovery in a style that will set it apart from typical interchanges, including the use of materials and lighting to make it the most attractive highway entrance to the City of Columbia.

Across Highway 63 from the development is “Discovery Ridge,” a 800 acre research park created by the University of Missouri (Discovery Ridge website). Discovery Ridge is expected to provide 1,500 jobs. 35% of which will pay an annual salary of over $85,000.

ABC Laboratories (www.abclabs.com/) has committed to Discovery Ridge, and has constructed a $15 million, 90,000 sqft headquarters. RADIL (www.radil.missouri.edu/) has signed on as well, and are building a $15.5 million, 48,000 sqft building.

Discovery Ridge is part of a larger plan by the University of Missouri to construct a Life sciences incubator, a Health sciences center, an $850 million re-build and expansion of the University Hospital, along with another $500 million for various campus projects.

The city of Columbia has purchased 460 acres of land adjacent to Discovery. The park will include nature facilities such as trails, as well as baseball fields and soccer fields. The city chose the park location due to the rapid growth in the area and it’s relation to Rock Bridge State Park.

Two new high schools are planned within the core area market of Discovery. They will include the Columbia Independent School, and Columbia’s first private Catholic High School.

The Columbia Independent school currently houses 100 K-5 students in the Sacred Heart education building on Waugh St. and 100 6-12 students in Hickman Hall on the campus of Stevens College. The new school will be built to accommodate 400 students. Annual tuition at CIS is $8,645 for k-5 and $10,675 for 6-12.

The new Catholic High School will be located directly adjacent to The Shops at Discovery Ridge. The school will include a performing arts center, all major sports teams, and will house around 250 students. Tuition for the school is expected to be around $5000 annually.

Discovery’s market area is one of the city’s hottest locations for residential development. New subdivisions in the area include Bristol Lake, The Vineyards, Woodlands and Old Hawthorne. Old Hawthorne, sitting on 1000 acres, is the largest residential development in the history of Columbia and includes a private 18 hole golf course surrounded by a mix of single family homes and luxury condominiums. The surrounding residential developments will compliment the planned residential section in Discovery.

Discovery has recently been highlighted in several national publications including an article on globest.com as seen here, Heartland Real Estate Business as seen here and rebusinessonline.com as seen here.  Discovery is drawing local attention as well.  The development was the feature in the September issue of the Columbia Business Times as can be seen in the download section and in the Columbia Missourian as seen here.  On November 20th, 2008 the new interchange was offically open for traffic.  A Columbia Missourian article regarding the event can be found here.