On a smaller scale, KGE also is redeveloping a section of Magdeburg's former port into what it is calling the Port of Sciences.

Former Port Gains New Lease on Life as 'Port of Science'    Dr. Graham Horton (pictured), a computer science professor at the University of Magdeburg, will likely be one of the first tenants in the renovated grain- storage building at the Port of Science. He and some former students founded a company called The Idea Factory in early 2006. The company helps clients come up with new ideas for marketing, saving money or any other functional area in which they may need new thinking.    "Our expertise is in knowing how to ask questions or provoke people in order for them to come up with new ideas for whatever their field happens to be," explains Horton. The company has helped Siemens come up with new ideas for distributing electrical energy around the world, and BMW is now realizing cost savings at a plant that it would not otherwise be doing thanks to its work with the young company.    The Idea Factory plans to occupy the top floor of the renovated silo, where it will hold its workshops, involving engineers from the client company and students from the university. Hundreds of ideas are discussed at the workshops, and Horton's group then presents the client with a comprehensive report on how the company can improve processes where it perceives a need for change.    "We need a location with around 200 square meters [2,100 sq. ft.] of open space, which is unusual," Horton explains. "The workshops are lively, with a great deal of activity and creativity – by German standards; it's a fairly energetic type of workshop. The location we choose must fit that. We were particularly interested in the top floor of this building, which has the open space, plus an industrial- museum feeling to it, a huge window looking down to the river and the park across the river – it's ideal. The space will have skylights with lots of natural light," he adds. "We believe it will lend itself easily to being a creative, optimistic, innovative atmosphere, which we need for running these workshops."

Magdeburg's commercial port facilities have moved east on the River Elbe, where they have room to expand and contribute to eastern Germany's emerging logistics role. The original port, closer to the town center, then, is ripe for redevelopment, especially given its proximity to such R&D assets as the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, the Otto- von- Guericke University of Magdeburg, the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation and the Virtual Development and Training Center, which opened in 2004 (for more on these facilities, see the sidebar on page 4).
   The site consists of lots for new development and existing structures, including former grain silos and warehouses that can be converted into space for "think tank" enterprises, R&D companies, consultants and others focusing on the area's scientific potential.
   KGE is in the midst of negotiations with prospective tenants for space in some of the structures, with rates generally in the five- to six- euro per square meter range (US$0.60 to $0.70 per sq. ft.). Depending on the size of the investment and number of jobs created, land at the Port of Sciences is going for approximately €100 per square meter (US$12 per sq. ft.).
   One of the two silos at the site was deemed unworkable for office development and is being replaced by a new structure that will house office space, a restaurant and access to the remaining silo, which is being renovated for tenants in the scientific arena. Combined, the structures will produce 4,500 sq. m. (48,440 sq. ft.) of new space.
   "Demand for the space is brisk, given its proximity to the nearby institutes and its setting on the river, which is conducive to attracting creative enterprises," says Thomas Hartig, who is overseeing development of the site for KGE.
   Users can expect the most state- of- the- art in telecommunications infrastructure, and they will pay for their own utilities.
   "While interest so far is mainly from within the region, we hope groups from other areas will also find this development of interest," says Hartig. Access to the many students nearby is one factor prompting some companies that have settled elsewhere to take a closer look at the Port development, he points out.