S I T E    S E L E C T I O N    S P E C I A L    F E A T U R E    F R O M    N O V E M B E R    2 0 0 0

---

Charlottesville's Slow-paced
Appeal Earns High-tech Nods

Although Charlottesville has been more known as a college town or tourist spot, there have been dramatic changes taking place in the region's economy. The same quality of life that one associates with a small city or college town has become the big draw for high-tech industries. And the University of Virginia's Patent Foundation is "becoming more aggressive in assisting researchers and people in the community take their ideas to the marketplace," says Bob DeMauri, executive director with the Thomas Jefferson Economic Development Partnership. "So the combination of an aggressive university and the quality of life has pushed a lot of information technology and biotechnology companies into the Charlottesville area."

Pharmaceuticals Research Associates (PRA) is one example. Last year, PRA took the third building at University Research Park at Northfork. PRA, which started in Charlottesville and now employs about 400 people, provides services to take drugs to the marketplace and interacts with the federal government and FDA.

In information technology, QualChoice, a health-care insurance company, is completing the fourth building at the same research park.